Umbral I

Projecto no contexto do seminário de Curatorship, lecionado por Luísa Santos no programa de Mestrado em Estudos de Cultura do Lisbon Consortium da Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Curadoria: Josh Furtado, Daria Antiukhova, Sabrina Hösch, Irina Pavlovicheva

Human≌Kind is an intimate connection between nature, people, emotions, and thinking, whereas Monica’s art is a mediator between all of these spheres. The exhibition features two recent art pieces: “Must I, in the first place, blast their ears, so they learn to listen with their eyes?” (2022) and “They toll for you” (2022). The movement shape and resemblance to knitted materials are ever-present in Monica's work, both in the physical form and emotional aspect. Together there is a strong sensory experience of the three-dimensional object and the painting moving. Overall, the plane canvas with voluminous expressive raffia fills the space by capturing brush resembling vibrations as the eye moves from the top down, creating more complex images. Thus the image stops existing in one physical space and goes far beyond. 

Working with various art formats, Monica shows how versatile and complex her ideas may be expressed at the same time. The feeling of vulnerability of human nature and life slips through the whole image. In her works, she explores the concept of the unity of duality, highlighting and generating opposing value judgments like Good and Evil, Life and Death, and Heaven and Paradise are dual parts of One. The literature appears as a great enduring research source for Monica as she enjoys creating her work based on investigating theoretical reflections. “From these reflections, my work develops into a series exploring each subject to the fullest” - the artist says. “The latest series explores and revolves around the theme of Fire. For Heraclitus, the Fire is a metaphor for Life. Everything transforms into fire, and fire becomes everything. For Bachelard, fire is the unity of dualities. Exploring these ideas is visually translated into an attempt to find the balance of opposites, to find the One”.