BIO
Working within a process reflective of life experiences, Monica embraces accidental and incidental moments; allowing herself to be guided by material. In doing so, she has come to realise that she is always seeking the catalyst or disruption and has embraced the transformative nature of the elements as potential collaborators in her practice. Her decisions are therefore an adaptation or acquiescence to circumstance as she navigates between anxiety and optimism; chaos and control.
“As fallen leaves and peeling bark imply both death and regeneration, so do the flaking patina and crumbling facades of the urban environment. I am interested in the collision or hybridity of natural and unnatural, as one adapts to the other. All things in nature must adapt to the uncontrollable elements forced upon them and I am seeking to capture that which is on the verge of either renewal or collapse. Amid the relentless story of progress and the ever-changing state of all things, I look to nature for signs of hope; of a promise of return.”
Monica is originally from California where she received a BFA from the California College of the Arts. She lived in Amsterdam for ten years, where she taught IB art and design. She also designed the Make a Scene Stamp Kit and co-founded the Hiraeth Magazine and podcast. She received an MFA from Slade School of Fine Art in 2019.
CV
EDUCATION
2019 MFA, Slade School of Fine Art, London
2005 BFA, with distinction, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2019 Studio Visit, No. 20 Arts, London
Orbit Graduates Art Show, OXO Tower Bargehouse, London
Limbo, Slade School of Fine Art, London
MFA degree show, Slade School of Fine Art, London
Raw Materials: Plastics, Nunnery Gallery/ Bow Arts, London
Distant Heres, The Stone Space, London
How Are You, Babe?, Blank 100, London
Nomenclature of Colours, Slade Research Centre, London
2018 Dark to Light, 35 Chapel Walk, Sheffield
Sammelwut, Nijmegen
Slade Interim Show, London
Wells Art Contemporary, Wells
Beep Painting Prize, Swansea
Liquitex White Walls Mural, London
The Field, ASC Gallery, London
2017 Thuyskamer, Amsterdam
2015 Solo Exhibition, Rob Radamaker Gallery, Utrecht
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2019 The Lionel Anthony Charitable Trust Award in support of Excellence in the Arts
Slade Summer School Art Education Residency, London
2018 Merzbarn, Lake District
TFAC Residency, The Griffin Gallery, London
2002 All College Honors Nomination, California College of the Arts, San Francisco/ Oakland
2001 “Cutting Edge” Award, James Kaneko Gallery, Sacramento
2000 “Cutting Edge” Award, James Kaneko Gallery, Sacramento
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2019 Chic Chats #27: Monica Perez Vega, Lawfully Chic. 5 Aug. 2019
Raw Materials: PLASTICS, May 2019
2018 WOTISART?, issue #11, Feb. 2018
Novelty Magazine, Issue #11, March 2018
2015 Fresh Paint Magazine, issue #9, Oct. 2015
For full CV, please enquire.