Emerging Artist Solo Show: Monica Curiel

Monica Curiel will be showcasing over 20 works she has created during the pandemic. Curiel is a mixed media artist and a Dallas, Texas native-born to Mexican immigrants. Her experience as a first-generation Mexican–American woman and cancer survivor impacts her work tremendously. Curiel considers herself equal halves Mexican as she does American, but says she “identifies mostly as a creator and artist.”
She likes to surprise people with her work. Curiel describes her work as: “more masculine, I love creating dark, black compositions but I also enjoy creating pieces that are light and playful. Most of my work also stems from a need to create a sense of serenity. My art aims to capture experiences in powerful abstract forms that are open to individual sense-making and interpretation. It has been especially important for me during the current time of isolation to create an environment in which I feel at peace. During the pandemic, I have made over 60 works. The works I create are intentionally made to reside in spaces that people inhabit and frequent. I want to enrich the spaces people interact with. This is what also drives my passion throughout my collections.”
 As the daughter of immigrants, whose parents contribute to the Latino labor force, she has developed a great appreciation for those who work in laborious jobs. A line of work that many immigrants and people of color are left to do. As a painter, she aims to create pieces that she feels honor those whose jobs are unnoticed by many in society. It is the way she stays connected to her cultural roots, specifically her Mexican heritage. “Porque tengo un orgullo inmenso por ser Mexicana” Curiel says proudly “because I am proud to be a Mexican woman.”  A viewer may not have that association upon first glance of her work, but that is also intentional . . . She does not create works that outwardly symbolize Mexico or the Latino culture in order to keep them inviting to all audiences.