Known as the Spanish ‘enfant terrible’, Marria Pratts’ (b.1988, Barcelona), multidisciplinary practice exudes an uninhibited and spontaneous spirit, taking inspiration from her immediate urban surroundings in L’Hospitalet (Barcelona).

Her work can be read as a defiance of our social structures, the contradictions that permeate the city, and the challenges of living in places under the constant threat of gentrification. Pratts’ instinctive approach to artmaking conveys an upbeat sense of resilience.

Her artistic output includes a repertoire of decidedly varied formats. Drawing, painting, sculpture, carpets, furniture and fanzines combine playful energy with a bright and optimistic colour palette and her strong taste for neon colour and neon art.

Within the apparent cacophony of her works, a series of recurring motifs—clocks, faces, hands, ladders and the ubiquitous ghosts — emerge as representatives of encounters from her meanderings through the city.

Marria considers herself an outsider, deeply aligned with the values of Art Brut. From her sculptures to her paper works, Marria Pratts invites us to be participants in a loud dialogue between happiness and sadness, and how they are both an essential part of human experience.

Pratts will have her first solo show at Carl Kostyál London later this year. She has shown at The ELM Foundation in New York, the Fundacion Joan Miró and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona.