Aviva Maree is a self-taught South African painter. She depicts the inner strength and hope of rural women going about their everyday work. She prefers to portray women as she admires how they appear to work with pride, contentment and the inner strength to survive and provide for their children no matter the circumstances.

In the past, she painted women with more specific African features. In her recent work women no longer belong to any particular ethnic group. The emphasis is on being a woman and this universality gives her work a timeless quality.

She aims to capture the flowing movement and posture of the female figure. She has a vibrant use of colour, bold brushstroke and captures the light of the moment.

She makes use of symbols such as fish, fruit, buckets, baskets, coats and shoulder bags. The hardy Protea plant which grows back after fire, often appears in her paintings as symbol of the inner strength of women.

Aviva is represented by several art galleries in South Africa. Since 2008 she has participated in various group exhibitions and presented successful annual solo exhibitions.