Untitled

GCC Arte Contemporáneo, a gallery in Mérida, Yucatán, publishes a biography of María José de Simón that reads her painting as "la acción desmedida que María José deja como huellas sobre el lienzo" (the unrestrained action María José leaves as traces on the canvas), and says her work is inspired by a way of painting that evokes "la crudeza del expresionismo abstracto" (the rawness of Abstract Expressionism).

The GCC biography calls the size of the canvas a fundamental subject of her work, one in which "las dimensiones del lienzo fungen como una extensión del cuerpo" (the dimensions of the canvas act as an extension of the body), and says that through "capas de pintura raspadas" (scraped layers of paint) each work gives a sense of depth.

In an interview in the February 2026 issue of Piece With Artist, a magazine of interviews with artists in their studios, de Simón was asked what her work seeks to represent and answered that it "ha evolucionado gradualmente, expresándose a través de masas de color y de forma cada vez más sencilla" (has gradually evolved, expressing itself through masses of color and in an ever simpler way).

She said Abstract Expressionism moves her, "el color, los trazos gestuales, el tamaño del lienzo" (the color, the gestural strokes, the size of the canvas), and that "Guerrero, Clifford Still, Rothko son clave en mi pintura" (Guerrero, Clyfford Still and Rothko are key to my painting).