Monica is a Connecticut-based New York City-raised artist and educator. She has been teaching architecture design, art, and digital media since 2000 both at the high school and college level.
The paintings explore fluctuations between disfiguration and figuration between layered fields and familiar beings. The picture plane is amassed to create spatial amplification for the figures to oscillate and dialogue in tension with the viewer. The work is inspired by graffiti and urban street art culture. The dark contour is a critical aspect for linking the figures as a continuous text. The figures are positioned between realism and illustration. This is especially evident in the portraits. The bodies disfigure into lines and anchor the portraits into the painted field.
The species work utilizes concepts derived from observations that demonstrate in biological systems. Projects are grown into architectonic composites that generate hyper-articulated forms and spatial fields.
The species’ work is grown through varied aggregation at multiple scales. The objective is the production of new organisms and organizational methods that represent morphogenetic evolutionary traits.
The photography captures spontaneous moments, performance, and atmospheric conditions. Portraits are unposed and are reflective of the space and time they occupy.
Education: Bachelor of Architecture, Cooper Union, Masters of Advanced Architectural Design, Columbia University. CTE UC Berkeley Extension, Teaching Credential California: Architecture/Engineering, Arts/ Media.