Monica Kim Garza
Image Courtesy of Galarie Julien Cadet
Monica Kim Garza, Vincent Beaurin
Cucul, 2020
Duo Exhibition
Exhibition:
Cucul
Gallery:
Galarie Julien Cadet
Previously On Display:
March 6th - 19th, 2020
There is something special about Monica Kim Garza’s paintings... They feel audaciously full of life and strength and joy—all things many of us need a little extra of right now.
Thank you, Paul and Glen, for suggesting the interview and introducing us. And, thank you, Monica, for sharing your work and your story with us! I so look forward to visiting your studio after this storm has passed. In the meantime, I am grateful to be able share your art here to brighten our days.
Image Courtesy of Galarie Julien Cadet
Monica Kim Garza, Vincent Beaurin
Cucul, 2020
Duo Exhibition
Elizabeth Mathis Cheatham: Oftentimes, the women in your paintings are referred to as being carefree and “having zero fucks.” What are these women not caring about, and what do they and you hold dear?
Monica Kim Garza: It’s what others have observed or said about my work, but I don’t know that that is my intention in each painting. However, I like everything to be free to interpretation, so maybe the paintings are channeling that.
EMC: It is encouraging to hear an artist say that… I think it can be intimidating sometimes to interpret art out of fear of ‘getting it wrong/not seeing what you are supposed to.’ Having lived in larger art markets (NY and SF for example), what was it like to come back to Atlanta? What has been the biggest challenge and reward of creating there?
MKG: It’s been great in terms of having an easier life. I kind of came here to be alone. I’ve never thrived in being surrounded by too many artists, and so this is more of how I grew up. I don’t have a community of art people here and I don’t want one in this moment. I like to paint all day and be unbothered. Then, I get to spend time with my family and dog. I couldn’t do that in other cities the way I do here. Sometimes I miss my artistic community or larger cities, but luckily I travel to LA and other cities for shows and get to see all my friends and art I admire. It works for me. I guess a challenge would be being so detached I wonder what opportunities I may be missing out on, but this is what I need right now.
Image Courtesy of Galarie Julien Cadet
Baguette
Monica Kim Garza
Image Courtesy of Galarie Julien Cadet
The Swimmers
Monica Kim Garza
Image Courtesy of Galarie Julien Cadet
Chambery
Monica Kim Garza
“My life has served as an inspiration with the allowance of many other people and ideas.”
– Monica kim Garza
EMC: In addition to loving your paintings, I am a huge fan of your ceramics. In a past article, you said, “I feel like ceramics is the core feeling I have inside, and when I finish a piece, it’s exactly what I wanted to say, and how I wanted to say it.” I was so struck by this. What is it about ceramics vs painting that gives you this feeling?
MKG: I think it’s that .. literally my hands mold what I’m making versus a brush. There’s a bit more primitive nature in it for me and rawness. A lot of my ceramics are pretty simple. Very much, ‘There you go.’ And I love a line. I’m able to really use that voice in ceramics. There’s also this no turning back. What you sculpt and fire is the end.
EMC: You were included in The Beyond: Georgia O’Keeffe and Contemporary Art exhibition, which originated at Crystal Bridges Museum and then traveled to the North Carolina Museum of Art and the New Britain Museum of American Art .... Can you speak to how GOK and other artists have inspired your work? Who are some of your art heroes?
MKG: I was asked about GOK when they asked me to be in the show, and I said she wasn’t really ever in my mind… Not an “inspiration”... I’m familiar with her work but I don’t know that it strikes my core. I respect her work, though, and am more than grateful to have exhibited in the same room as her. But I don’t die and have those “wow” eyes with her…
The artists that inspired me the most in my life were the masters like Michelangelo and Caravaggio. I love Courbet and Bosch too. Caravaggio has probably given me the most “wow” moments.
“I just want to make great works that withstand time.”
– Monica Kim Garza
Image Courtesy of Galarie Julien Cadet
Moroccan Nights
Monica Kim Garza
EMC: Yes, all such amazing artists...I have always loved Caravaggio’s painting of Saint Catherine of Alexandria at Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. In December, I had the opportunity to see Artemisia Gentileschi’s Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria at the National Gallery in London. The painting felt quite different to me, though you could certainly see Caravaggio’s influence. Seeing her work was a major “wow” moment for me.
It is so interesting knowing that about you. The old masters would not have been my first guess, and I look forward to revisiting your work with that in mind.
Can you speak to us a bit about your process? Do you work on multiple paintings at a time or do you like to focus on one?… When you begin a painting, do you have a pretty good idea of where you want it to end up, or does it evolve and shift as you put paint to canvas?
MKG: Yeah, I work on 4 or so at a time. I like to take breaks and move on to other works and rotate them. It also allows paint to sit there and I like building up layers. I'm working with oils now, so it has made my process a lot slower than before. Just because oils take a long time to dry.
I normally have an image in mind, but I change it as I feel is needed. Sometimes it is exactly what I had in mind, and other times it's something completely different.
Image Courtesy of Galarie Julien Cadet
Monica Kim Garza, Vincent Beaurin
Cucul, 2020
Duo Exhibition
EMC: Do you see the women you paint as autobiographical or self-portraits?
MKG: Every painting is different and then characters have evolved over time. My life has served as an inspiration with the allowance of many other people and ideas.
EMC: What is filling your art and your time these days?... What are you most excited about?
MKG: I’ve transitioned back to oil painting. I paint every day, and then just hang out with my dog and family for the most part.
Right now, I’m focusing on making more intimate works. In general I just want to make great works that withstand time. Only time will tell ;)