Monica Perez Vega, The Willows, 2020, acrylic, spray paint and oil on canvas, 30x40cm

Statement

Monica's work explores ideas of uncertainty and adaptation and her imagined landscapes sit between nostalgia and unease. Originally from California, memories of home are warped by a changing landscape and experiences of continually starting over have led to a practice which investigates cycles of change. Her interest in skies
is about both transience and presence, as well as a wider concern for the environment. Trees on the other hand, are anthropomorphic figures which tell a story of steady resilience.

Tree stumps are headless figures; embodiments of disruption, but also places where life quietly thrives. Bark is also a skin; a protector of vulnerability. Trees elicit memories of home and act as markers to time. As one who often feels lost between place, trees represent an aspiration for rootedness.

Bio

Monica has an MFA in painting from the Slade School of Art and a BFA from the California College of the Arts. She completed the Turps Correspondence Course 21-22 and received a DYCP grant for her project, 'greening my practice' in 2023. She was recently shortlisted for the Exeter Contemporary 2024. She was recently commissioned by Liquitex to paint a mural at the Graphic Design Centre in London (to promote their new bio-based line of acrylic paint) and has an upcoming commission with Cambridge University Hospital. She is co-director of the artist-led curatorial platform SMALL WORKS and has co-curated a number of group exhibitions including England is a Forest for Sluice Colchester, 2024, Bury My Songs at Terrace Gallery, London, 2024 and Weary Harold, ASC Gallery, London, 2022.