Maria Fritz
Artist
Maria Fritz
Location
Omaheke, Namibia
Creating
Painting
Maria Fritz was a self-taught San artist and a member of the Omba Arts community from the Kalahari region of Namibia. Working primarily in oil, her paintings explored the flora, fauna, and traditional narratives of her community. Fritz’s Mamaba Blaar (Anti-Venom Against Black Mamba) (2015) has been included in international contemporary art collections, demonstrating her engagement with both indigenous subjects and broader conversations in global art. Her practice reflecteds a deep attunement to environment and cultural memory, bridging local lived experience with visual expression.
Maria recently passed away at the age of 36, leaving behind six children, four of whom attend school in Donkerbos. Her absence is deeply felt within her community, and her work stands as a lasting expression of her voice, vision, and lived experience.
Proud Mary acquired this original piece through Omba Arts Trust, an organization that since 2002 has traveled to remote Namibian resettlement farms to support and work alongside emerging San artists.
The San people are recognized as one of the most enduring human populations in history, with cultural roots dating back more than 20,000 years. Yet their voices have often been overshadowed by the forces of modern politics and displacement.
Art has become one of the most powerful mediums through which San artists articulate both ancestral knowledge and contemporary reality. The imagery in this work reflects generations of hunting and gathering traditions, alongside the artists’ transition into a world vastly different from that of their ancestors.
