September Feature Artist - Monica Gewurz
Born in Peru in 1957, Monica immigrated to Canada in 1976, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science and a Master in Landscape Architecture. She also has an Advanced Painting Certificate from Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
Monica's distinctive style of textural painting, in which she applies thick layers of acrylic paint and medium with palette knives, results in a 3-D effect, suggesting organic energy, flow and movement. At the same time, she uses multiple glazes of colour to produce contrast and harmony, creating lightness, fluidity, and ephemeral atmospheric effects.
She is drawn to the extraordinary in the ordinary, capturing the feeling and emotion on canvas, reflected in her luminous layers and enticing textures. Eliminating recognizable details in her work, Monica explores the texture of metal patinas, the patterns of light as it reflects across the water and the radiance of calm and stormy skies. Ethereal and luminous landscapes evoke both the visceral and tactile senses. At the same time, expansive skies elicit a sense of mood and ever-present calm, leaving space for herself and the viewer to wonder, imagine and dream.
Monica is represented year-round by Ukama Gallery in Vancouver, Tofino Gallery of Contemporary Art on Vancouver Island and internationally by Singulart. She has received many international awards and her paintings have been exhibited at numerous galleries in British Columbia and Washington. Her artwork can be found in private and public collections in Canada, the US and worldwide.
https://www.monicagewurz.com
@monicagewurzart
Artist Statement
I am a mixed-media artist focusing on the ever-inspiring landscapes and seascapes that surround me on the West Coast of British Columbia and my travelling experiences. Drawing on my background in environmental science, I create evocative and purposely imperfect paintings inspired by nature’s patinas, and the interplay of colour and light in the sky and water during dusk.
My art stands out and is unique because of its high texture, luminosity and the inclusion of several upcycled materials and metallic foils not commonly used in art. Exploring the reflective golden and silver hues is a constant delight, which I try to echo in my luminous works. The horizon serves as my perennial starting point, from which I capture the ethereal beauty of clouds, the magic colour of sunsets, and the beautiful reflection of light and colour on the water during dusk.
I use mixed media for its capacity to reach beyond the visual, to be more tactile and tangible. I curate combinations of materials and techniques to abstract reality, telling a story to elicit an intimate aesthetic and emotional response. To experience this, the viewer must enter the multiple layers and textures of my work, and be seduced into a visual and visceral encounter – a holistic meeting of minds between artist and viewer, inspiring mindfulness.
Emotional states of being rather than specific places are represented in my artwork, encouraging the viewer into a mood of physical beauty, spiritual inspiration and mindfulness. I want each person to experience my paintings with their ideas of place and emotion.