I met Maui in Sao Paulo in 1982 and we have maintained our friendship ever since, spending time together in London, Amsterdam and Sao Paulo. I have seen him studying and working initially in ceramics and then in painting and sculpture, as well as his teaching. He stares into life. He feels very deeply, cares very deeply and is constantly committed to communicating emotions and ideas to others, and helping others to do the same.
The art
Our house and my offices proudly display works by Maui, created over a period of decades. There are watercolours and oils. There is even my old garden table top, turned during one visit to London into a collage with cloth and paint. These are not works that fade into the background. Rather, they demand and then reward your attention. Being aesthetically harmonious, they draw you into their moods of elation, calm or sadness. There is, as I see it, always some hope in there, some reason to go on, go better.
Russell Whitehead
Earth, Fire,Water ,Wood and Metal best describe the relationship between the ethereal and the physical.
For Maui, his relationship with art clearly accentuates this understanding.
Having traveled and interacted with different creeds and cultures further cemented his beliefs that nature is best expressed through artistic representations and so this is his life's work.
From gallery owner and operator in Europe to educator in Latin America, Maui embodies the soul of an adventurer, the eyes of the innocent and the heart of a loving soul.
Fernando Rosado
I met Maui Reple some years ago. At first sight I was deeply impressed how his art communicated with me. Later on, he became my “drawing teacher” in my attempt to create something out of myself. The pandemic interrupted our classes. Actually, I have a very big painting of him in my office which inspires me to overcome difficult moments.
Rodolfo Stömer
I have known Maui for 20 years and from the very first moment I was struck by how he embraces life - with all its ups and downs - so fully and deeply. His art reflects this perfectly with its vibrancy, colour, texture, empathy and humour. We have many paintings on display in our house but I have noticed that Maui’s work always attracts people’s eye - they are drawn to it, they comment, ask questions and find meaning. These human connections which Maui makes through his art are powerful and life-affirming.
Juliet Wilson
In every work of art he creates, Maui Reple is bold, colorful and provocative. Maui tells a story. He makes you think and wonder.
His art isn't always 'easy', but it is always worthy. Worthy of him as the artist and worthy of you, as the admirer.
Peter de Jong
When looking at the Maui Reple collection, I perceive an atmosphere of ups and downs. One moment I was in front of dark, matte and extremely dense paintings, and soon after, paintings of immense joy and light appear. My perception is of an immense honesty to humor, without ties with artificial tendencies. The painting translates into the moment in which the work was conceived. The quick strokes clearly show that the production time did not let escape the emotion that generated the image I saw.
Julio Silveira
Ever since we first had the good luck, in the late 1990s, to come across Maui's unique work in the gallery that he and Harry van Gestel used to run in Amsterdam, three of his paintings have graced our family home in Hamburg. Decades after they had begun to enrich our lives by their inimitable presence and saw our children grow up under their quiet, yet mysterious gaze, my wife and I recently were privileged to finally meet the artist in his unassuming, yet impressive gallery cum home in Brazil.
Upon entering, we immediately felt that the deep humanity, honesty, spirituality, and both love and understanding of Life in all its complexity, faces, and fluctuations between serenity and turmoil that had fascinated us in Maui's paintings so long ago was fully reflected by the inspiring collection that surrounded us - and in the man himself.
Encountering this gentle, kind, open-hearted, and generous soul, who continues to share with us his inner vision of our wonderous existence through his art, was one of those rare and precious moments in time and space when you feel intensely what it really means to be a Mensch.
Thank you, Maui.