Monique Prieto, Tower of Power, 1995, acrylic on canvas, 14 x 12 inches. Collection of Anita and Anton C. Garnier, Pasadena, California. Photo: Joshua White Photography.
How can formalist, abstract painting—typically aloof and so removed from daily life—remain relevant in a world of dizzying change, innovation and visual overload? How can painters today reinvigorate the shopworn, purist traditions of modernism and speak meaningfully to contemporary audiences? Monique Prieto belongs to a new generation of artists who are grappling with these questions and pushing painting into the 21st century. With her funky biomorphic forms, Prieto reinvents the process of painting and overthrows romantic myths of self-expression. Although she is a highly skilled draftsman with traditional training and expertise, she chooses to draw on the computer screen, during respites from her role as a mother of young children. Traces of everyday objects and domestic family life find their way into her brightly hued blobs and blips. For Prieto, the computer is a flexible and convenient tool through which to explore preliminary compositions and color schemes.
Organized by Senior Curator Marilu Knode, this exhibition features a selection of Prieto’s recent work. It is the seventh in the Museum’s southwestNET series, which highlights exciting work by artists, architects and designers working in the region today.
Monique Prieto was born in 1962 in Los Angeles and raised in a Mexican-American household in which art was always present. She received her BFA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and then another BFA and her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia. Prieto began exhibiting in 1989 and has had one-person shows in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Her work has been included in group shows in Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Organized by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Made possible in part by the SMoCA Salon.
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September 3, 2005-
December 4, 2005
Virginia Ullman Gallery, SMoCA |
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