Maru García is a Mexican, LA-based artist/chemist working across art + science + environment.

Operating at the intersection of art, science, and the environment, Maru Garcia bridges empirical research and creative expression. As both an artist and a chemist, her practice is rooted in regenerative art, moving beyond observation to actively engage in restoring the natural world. Her work centers on "seeing the unseen," or the art of the imperceptible, where she translates complex chemical and biological processes into tangible experiences. By focusing on microbes, plants, and minerals, she studies the interactions between the organic and inorganic to reveal the hidden pulse of our ecosystems.

Garcia’s multidisciplinary approach spans the laboratory, the gallery, and public spaces. She creates objects and experiences that challenge our perception of permanence and address urgent issues such as soil contamination through installation, sculpture, mosaics, video, microscopy, and biomaterial experimentation. Her commitment to environmental justice is realized through community science and participatory art, seeking to heal ecological relations broken by degradation and fostering collective responsibility toward the ecosystems we inhabit.

Maru García's work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions and conferences across North America, Europe, and Asia. Her ventures into public art include a large-scale digital piece for the California Natural Resources Agency and a proposal for a sculpture at the Puente Hills Landfill Park, commissioned by the Los Angeles Arts and Culture Department. She was an artist in residence at the National Center of Genetic Resources in Mexico and has been recognized with numerous awards, including the New York Foundation for the Arts ‘Anonymous Was a Woman Environmental Art Grant’, the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Environmental Justice Grant, and the Getty Foundation Grant.

She was part of the Getty Research Institute’s 2019-2020 Scholar program, "Art and Ecology," and a 2021-2022 artist in residence at the 18th Street Arts Center. She has collaborated with Metabolic Studio since 2023 and is an Associate Research Scientist in Mineral Sciences at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Maru García is the founder of Prospering Backyards. She holds an MFA in Design & Media Arts from UCLA, an MS in Biotechnology, and a BS in Chemistry, both from Tecnológico de Monterrey, México.


Maru García es una artista/química mexicana que trabaja en la intersección de arte + ciencia + medio ambiente.

Trabajando en la intersección del arte, la ciencia y el medio ambiente, Maru García conecta la investigación empírica con la expresión creativa. Como artista y química, su práctica se basa en el arte regenerativo, yendo más allá de la observación para participar activamente en la restauración del mundo natural. Su trabajo se centra en "ver lo invisible", o el arte de lo imperceptible, donde traduce complejos procesos químicos y biológicos en experiencias tangibles. Al centrarse en microbios, plantas y minerales, estudia las interacciones entre lo orgánico y lo inorgánico para revelar el pulso oculto de nuestros ecosistemas.

El enfoque multidisciplinario de García abarca el laboratorio, la galería y los espacios públicos. Crea objetos y experiencias que desafían nuestra percepción de la permanencia y abordan problemas urgentes como la contaminación del suelo mediante instalaciones, esculturas, mosaicos, video, microscopía y experimentación con biomateriales. Su compromiso con la justicia ambiental se materializa a través de la ciencia comunitaria y el arte participativo, buscando sanar las relaciones ecológicas dañadas por la degradación y fomentando la responsabilidad colectiva hacia los ecosistemas que habitamos.

La obra de Maru García se ha exhibido en exposiciones individuales y colectivas, así como en conferencias en Norteamérica, Europa y Asia. Sus incursiones en el arte público incluyen una pieza digital a gran escala para la Agencia de Recursos Naturales de California y una propuesta escultórica para el Parque del Vertedero de Puente Hills, comisionada por el Departamento de Arte y Cultura de Los Ángeles. Fue artista residente en el Centro Nacional de Recursos Genéticos de México y ha recibido numerosos premios, entre ellos la Beca de Arte Ambiental "Anonymous Was a Woman" de la Fundación para las Artes de Nueva York, la Beca de Justicia Ambiental de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de California (CalEPA) y la Beca de la Fundación Getty.

Participó en el programa de becas "Arte y Ecología" del Instituto de Investigación Getty (2019-2020) y fue artista residente en el Centro de Artes de 18th Street (2021-2022). Colabora con Metabolic Studio desde 2023 y es Científica Asociada de Investigación en Ciencias Minerales en el Museo de Historia Natural del Condado de Los Ángeles. Maru García es la fundadora de Prospering Backyards. Tiene una maestría en Diseño y Artes de Medios de la UCLA, una maestría en Biotecnología y una licenciatura en Química, ambas del Tecnológico de Monterrey, México. Actualmente reside en Los Ángeles, CA.

Photo credit: Yogan Muller

SELECTED MEDIA

CV

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b 1982 Puebla, México

EDUCATION

Master in Fine Arts. Design and Media Arts (2019) University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Thesis: ‘Eco-aesthetics: From relationship to remediation.’ Advisors: Rebeca Méndez, Victoria Vesna, Erkki Huhtamo

Leaders in Sustainability Certificate (2019). University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)

Master of Science. Biotechnology (2009). Tecnológico de Monterrey, Monterrey, México. Thesis: ‘Metabolic Phenotypes generated by changes in H+pyrophosphatase (AVP1) expression in Arabidopsis thaliana Ecotype Columbia’. Advisor: Rocío Diaz

Bachelor of Science. Chemistry (2005). Tecnológico de Monterrey, Monterrey, México. Thesis: ‘Extraction of flavonoids present in the mandarin Citrus reticulata peel.’ Advisor: Elsa Guajardo

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

‘Morphogenesis I: coast, shrub, forest’. California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA).

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • ‘Membrane tensions SCOBY Lamp Collection’ (Sep 2025), Plot Gallery, Los Angeles, California

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

CURATORIAL PROJECTS

TALKS, PANELS, & HAPPENINGS

  • “(re)Membering” Panel. Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) Long Beach, California.

  • “Community Science in Action” Panel (Sep 2025) California Land Recycling Conference, Carson, CA. 

  • “What Can Symbiotic Futures Look Like?” (Jan 2025). Online Panel. Women Eco Artists Dialog.

  • “Sinks: Places We Call Home” Panel (Dec 2024). The Luckman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.

  • ‘Dirty Topic: Environmental Justice in L.A. Art’ (Nov 2022). Art for Earth’s Sake Panel. MOCA. Los Angeles, CA.

  • ‘Ecoaesthetics: from relationship to remediation’ Artist Talk (Jan 2023) Pepperdine Studio Arts

  • ‘Expert consultant Biodesign Challenge 2022’ (Apr 2022) Guest speaker. Universidad de Buenos Aires.

  • ‘Environmental Storytelling - Stories from the Field’ (Apr 2022) Panel. Virtual event. Public Lab.

  • “Pile 2 patio, mulch sculpture.” 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica, CA.

  • ‘Pb Lead in Los Angeles’ (Apr 2022) Talk and video screening. Benton Museum, Claremont, California.

  • ‘Culture 2’ Artist talk (Aug 2021) Virtual event. Culture-culture.

  • ‘Earth Day’ Artist talk (Apr 2021) Conversation with Assemblymember Anthony Rendon, Los Angeles, California.

  • ‘Coexistence, interdependence between species’ Panel (Apr 2021) Nature, Art & Habitat, Los Angeles, California.

  • ‘Membrane Tensions’ Artist Talk (Mar 2021) Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California.

  • ‘Ecoaesthetics: from relationship to remediation’ Artist Talk (Feb 2021) University of California Santa Barbara. ‘The rescue cookbook’ Panel (Aug 2020) ARS Electronica. Virtual event.

  • Conference Alliance of Women in Media Arts and Sciences (AWMAS). (Feb 2020) University of California Santa Barbara. Artist talk: ‘Ecoaesthetics: from relationship to remediation.’

  • ‘National Brownfields Conference’ Invited artist (Dec 2019) Los Angeles Convention Center. Los Angeles, CA.

  • ‘Taboo, Transgression, and Transcendence in Science and Technology’ (Nov 2018) International Conference, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City. Artist talk: “Becoming-with the other: Expanding the spectrum of relationships through art and science.”

  • Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) (Nov 2018) Art-Sci Center, California Nanosystems Institute. UCLA, Los Angeles, California. Artist talk: “The culture.”

  • Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) (May 2018) Art-Sci Center, California Nanosystems Institute. Los Angeles, California. Artist talk: “Vivarium place of life.”

WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES

  • “Biomaterials: SCOBY” Workshop (Feb, Mar 2026) University of California, Santa Barbara

  • ‘Sensorial SCOBY’ Workshop (Sep 2025), Plot Gallery, Los Angeles, California

  • “Materials Acts: Feed” Workshop (Dec 2024). Craft Contemporary. Los Angeles, CA.

  • ‘Hacer Tierra’ (Dec 2022)  Workshop. Society for Social Studies of Science Conference. Puebla, Mexico.

  • ‘Playing with SCOBY’ Workshop (Mar 2021) Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California.

  • ‘Biomaterials: working with kombucha’ Guest lecturer (Feb 2021) University of California Los Angeles.

  • ‘The art of becoming animal’ Guest lecturer (Nov 2020) Occidental College. Los Angeles, California.

  • ‘Biomaterials’ Workshop instructor (Summer 2020) Atenea Mentors Program, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain.

  • Instructor. Art-Sci Summer Institute (Summer 2019, Summer 2018) Art-Sci Center. California Nanosystems Institute. UCLA. Los Angeles, California

  • Teaching Assistant. Department of Design and Media Arts (2018- 2019) UCLA. Los Angeles, California

    • Special Topics in Design and Media Arts: Bio- and Nano-Technology + Design. Prof. Victoria Vesna.

    • Special Topics in Design and Media Arts: Visual Communication. Prof. Lars Muller.

    • Special Topics in Design and Media Arts: Land and Environment. Prof. Rebeca Méndez.

RESIDENCIES

COMMISSIONS

  • Descanso Gardens: Emerging Horizons Soil sculptures (2026)

  • Descanso Gardens: Boiling Rocks 1 Mosaic 3 (2025)

  • Self-Help Graphics: Boiling Rocks Series (2024-2025)

  • Self-Help Graphics: Prospering backyards. Lead remediation research project. (2022-2024)

  • Olderbrother: Fermented reality. Augmented reality app + installation (2023)

  • California Natural Resources Agency: Morphogenesis I. Video- data visualization. (2021)

  • Olderbrother: Shelter. Biomaterials sculpture (2021)

  • Olderbrother: Algae. Spirulina bioreactor- sculpture (2021)

  • Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery: Membrane tensions. Multimedia installation (2021)

  • Olderbrother: Compost-ables. Fungi ecosystems (2020) 

AWARDS

AFFILIATIONS AND  MEMBERSHIPS

 

MEDIA

ABOUT

REGENERATIVE PRACTICES

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

MULTISPECIES RELATIONS

ECOSYSTEMS | BIODIVERSITY | BIODESIGN

ECO-ART | BIO-ART