Maria Dominguez

About the Healer Series Paintings

A healer is defined as a person who through prayer and faith heals others. As inspiration for my painting series of “Healers”, I selected actual women who’ve gone beyond prayer to deliver their healing energies to their community. In their spiritual drive for truth and progress they’ve used their activism whether through writing poetry, storytelling, social justice and use these as a vehicle to heal themselves and others while building community. They are:

• Dr. Whilemina Perry (2024) who celebrated her 90th birthday in 2024 is lifelong social justice activist and was foundational in the creation of the LGBTQIA+ youth in their houses of worship. She was also the life-long partner of Dr. Antonia Pantoja.
• Dr. Nydia Edgecombe (2024) is "Nydia" and was Director of Admissions and Recruitment at Hostos Community College (CUNY) in the South Bronx. She made her career creating strategies for new recruitments of Spanish speaking students and secured the enrollment of hundreds in her community.
• Dr. Antonia Pantoja (2024) "Aspira, Siempre Aspira" was a LGBTQ civil rights leader and was the founder of ASPIRA. She provided educational and financial opportunities to the underserved Puerto Rican and Latinex students in NYC and throughout the USA.
• Evelina Lopez Antonetty "Yo Soy de Aqui" ("I Am From Here") (2022), and was a Bronx civil rights activist who helped families and school aged children excel with their education and in their school environments.
• "Penumbre" (2021) is a self-portrait created while sheltering in place during the CoVid 19 pandemic.
• Sandra Maria Esteves (2016) "Arachna" is a poet/writer and one of the founding members of the legendary Nuyorican poetry movement, whose themes of social justice are integrated in her work.
• Julia de Burgos (2014) was writer/poet and civil rights activist. "Rio Grande" is named after one of her famous poems of a beloved river in Puerto Rico.

About the Healer Series - Mixed Media & Collages

A gentle touch, soft music, dew on grass, Earth’s flowing waters, even our faith in religion; all become healing aspects, when we seek it. The Healers series began in 2003, during a period where I needed to express my personal journey, while serving my family and community, towards our own healing. By using images of my body and various interpretations of hearts, I was able to manifest my goal.

The Healers created during 2017/13 became a fun and liberating exploration. The fragmented spaces, shapes and colors, lead me thru a passage where imagined unknown female images, icons and symbols, were born. Although the colors and shapes collided, they all became harmonious. These images soon took a life of their own and assumed individual healing characters. Some became regal, others saintly, as they merged into reflections of hope: healers of polluted rivers, oceans, air, the celestials and our body and soul. They challenged me towards new discoveries of imaginary possibilities where healers can now mend our global needs.

(Selected Giclee prints of Healers are available for sale. If interested please contact the artist for additional information)