Alyssa Monks

Born 1977 in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Alyssa Monks began oil painting as a child. She
stdied at !he New School in New "ork and Montclair State #ni$ersity and earned her B.A.
%ro& Boston 'ollege in 1999. (ring this ti&e she stdied painting at )oren*o de+Medici in
,lorence. She went on to earn her M.,.A %ro& the New "ork Acade&y o% Art, -radate
School o% ,igrati$e Art in .//1. She co&pleted an artist in residency at ,llerton 'ollege in
.//0 and has lectred at ni$ersities and instittion nation wide. She has taght ,lesh
1ainting at the New "ork Acade&y o% Art, as well as Montclair State #ni$ersity and the )y&e
Acade&y 'ollege o% ,ine Arts.
2#sing %ilters sch as glass, $inyl, water, and stea&, 3 distort the body in shallow painted
spaces. !hese %ilters allow %or large areas o% abstract design 4 islands o% color with acti$ated
sr%aces 4 while bits o% the h&an %or& peak throgh. 3n a conte&porary take on the
traditional bathing wo&en, &y sb5ects are pshing against the glass 6window7, distorting
their own body, aware o% and co&&anding the pro$erbial &ale ga*e. !hick paint strokes in
delicate color relationships are pshed and plled to i&itate glass, stea&, water and %lesh
%ro& a distance. 8owe$er, p close, the delicios physical properties o% oil paint are
apparent. !hs sstaining the &o&ent when abstract paint strokes beco&e so&ething else.2
29hen 3 began painting the h&an body, 3 was obsessed with it and needed to create as
&ch realis& as possible. 3 chased realis& ntil it began to nra$el and deconstrct itsel%,7
Alyssa states, 63 a& e:ploring the possibility and potential where representational painting
and abstraction &eet 4 i% both can coe:ist in the sa&e &o&ent.2
Monks;s paintings ha$e been the sb5ect o% n&eros solo and grop e:hibitions inclding
23nti&acy2 at the <nst Mse& in Ahlen, -er&any and 2Recon%igring the Body in
A&erican Art, 1=./>.//92 at the National Acade&y Mse& o% ,ine Arts, New "ork. 8er
work is represented in pblic and pri$ate collections, inclding the Sa$annah 'ollege o% Arts,
the So&erset Art Association and the collections o% 8oward !ll&an, (anielle Steele and
?ric ,ischl.
Alyssa has been awarded the ?li*abeth -reenshields ,ondation -rant %or 1ainting three
ti&es and is a &e&ber o% the New "ork Acade&y o% Art;s Board o% !rstees. She is crrently
represented by (a$id <lein -allery in Bir&ingha&, Michigan. Alyssa crrently li$es and
paints in Brooklyn, New "ork.
http://warholian.com/2010/10/photos-alyssa-monks-contemporary-oil-artist-interview-and-
studio-visit-warholian/
Alyssa Monks is one of the foremost emerging contemporary artists in America today. er
paintings are often presented as faces !ehind sheets of water" whether it !e steamy shower
door" or within a tran#uil pool. $houghtfully rendered" and conceptually genius" Monks%
work stands alone in the world of contemporary art. &lending !oth realism and a!straction"
Monks% paintings stop you in your tracks and leave you wanting more.
'e were a!le to interview this talented oil artist recently and given e(clusive photo access
within her studio.
)an you remem!er your first steps into the world of art and how that%s translated into a career
today*
)lick the image gallery a!ove to see Alyssa+s studio and more of her ama,ing work-
. had a proclivity towards drawing and painting. . drew a lot and for long periods of time as a
child. . was very /neat0 and stayed in the lines" which prompted my art teacher in
kindergarten to suggest classes outside of school. My mother was dedicated to getting me to
many after school art classes throughout my education. . started oil painting when . was 1
years old and throughout grammar and high schools . took classes outside of school at various
institutions. After graduating from &oston )ollege . went directly to the 2ew 3ork Academy
of Art where . learned all . could a!out anatomical accuracy and traditional painting
techni#ues. )ountless professors and guest lecturers influenced me" 4incent 5esiderio" 6ric
7ischl" 8enny 9aville" 'ill )otton" $ony 9herman" to name a few. $he education didn%t stop
at graduation though. As :hillip :earlstein said at the keynote address" one must now
/unlearn0 all that has !een taught. :utting it all together in the 1 years since and going
forward is an ongoing challenge. .t keeps it interesting.
)ould you tell us a !it a!out your upcoming show at 5avid ;lein <allery* $he su!=ect matter
and any new approaches you%re utili,ing*
$he latest !ody of work involves more o!fuscation of the human face and !ody using water"
oil and other elements as filters. . want to see how far . can push reality to the other side
where the /real0 is still recogni,a!le" !ut !ecoming totally a!stract. . want to see how far .
can push !oth the real and the a!stract at the same time" into one another" !uilding that tension
until they are =ust one and the same. . am trying to use more paint and imagination in the
a!straction that these filters create. $here is a lot more invention in this !ody of work.
3our most recent !odies of work have focused around individuals and water" what
significance does it hold for you as an individual* as it !een a challenging su!=ect to
capture as an artist*
.%ve always !een drawn to water since . was a child. . was known to venture into the pool
unsupervised on more than a few occasions. As an adult" . still love the feeling of warm water
around me>it%s the ultimate comfort. And visually it is an infinite world of constantly
changing filters melting and disfiguring everything you can see through it like a distorted lens.
.t is unpredicta!le and complicated in how it refracts light and reflects images. 1? years ago" .
thought it was impossi!le to paint" so may!e it%s partly the challenge of painting something
that mis!ehaves so much and can still !e so !eautiful. .t%s versatile" it%s serene" it%s disruptive@
it is !asically a constantly changing lens" reflecting and refracting everything. . find it
fascinating. .t lets me fulfill my love of creating illusions with paint" yet still en=oy the loose
and delicious #uality of spreading the paint like icing across the canvas.
'hat artists have inspired you Acontemporary and historicallyB and why*
.%ve !een looking a lot at 6gon 9chiele and his drawing sense" very sensual and e(pressive. .
love Ale( ;anevsky%s paintings. $here is so much
confidence and freshness in his paint. .ts
irresisti!le. 8enny 9aville and 6ric 7ishl have this #uality in their work as well. .ts also in
Cem!randt and 8ackson :ollock and 9orolla. 4incent 5esiderio is always fascinating me. is
paint looks effortless and complicated at the same time. $ony 9cherman%s layering in
encaustic is so entrancing. Dther artists who have inspired me are <orgione" ;limt" Manet"
2an <oldin" <regory )rewdson" 5iane Ar!us" 5avid Eynch" 'ill )otton" and many of my
peers and students.
$he internet has played a role in spreading knowledge a!out your work" do you have any
stories or insights to share regarding this*
$he internet is !oth a curse and a !lessing . guess. .t is so wonderful for the e(posure of
artwork instantly and it spreads like wildfire sometimes. &ut the pro!lem arises when it
!ecomes a su!stitute for viewing the work in the real. 2o one would say they saw
Michelangelo%s 5avid had they =ust seen a compressed low res FG?0 =peg on a laptop. 3et"
with contemporary work we feel somewhat satisfied with this representation. Most art looks
very different in person than it does on a computer screen" so the =peg should !e only
considered a virtual preview rather than a viewing e(perience in itself. $here is no
su!stitution for the intimacy of !eing in the same actual space with a work of art.
http@AAalyssa&onks.co&ApageApro%ileAbioBCCCDplay.5pgBpro%ile