María José Franco Maldonado is a Colombian artist whose creative roots were nurtured at home, guided by a lineage of iconic artists including Georgia O'Keeffe, Lee Krasner, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Judy Chicago. After formalizing her studies in art direction and advertising in Buenos Aires, she began exhibiting her work in 2015 across New York and Buenos Aires. In 2017, María José fell in love with embroidery, a medium through which she blends techniques to create richly textured, often surreal portrayals of human forms. Her textile art has been featured in prominent exhibitions such as Noches San Felipe, Feria del Millón, and VENTURA in Bogotá and Medellín, as well as internationally in the group show CRYING across Australia and New Zealand. With each stitch, María José weaves personal history, feminist influence, and playful strangeness into her evolving visual language.