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These works of art are definitely not toys.




If you're afraid that your child does not have enough phobias, the creepy dolls of Mariana Monteagudo will unfailingly keep him up at night. Over the past twenty years, the Venezuelan-born, Florida-based artist has built an army of macabre statuettes from unwanted objects she finds around neighborhoods and at local thrift shops. Her work explores topics like capitalism, immigration, terror, consumerist fetishism and the emerging upcycling culture.

Some of them look out of this world. Others seem freakishly evil. Like I'm going to murder you while laughing maniacally, evil. Of her sculptures, Mariana says, "They were born unscripted. And that's how they look. Ever since I made the first one, I have continued feeling the urge to produce more."

Mariana has received several awards, and her unsettling work has caught the eye of many critics and is now part of the MOLAA Museum in California, Everson Museum, NY, Cesar Gaviria Trujillo Collection, Columbia, among other contemporary art collections.
 
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