Mónica Vélez
Statement
Ephemera from daily rituals and women’s material culture captured my attention from early life. My childhood was surrounded by dolls I never played with: “Ellas perderán su belleza” (“They will lose their beauty”), my mother warned. Her idea didn’t bother me at first, and I made my room an altar of plastic beauties, untouchable but wanted. Later, as I found myself in the collection, I embraced them with hate. I took them out of their boxes and punished them: disrobed, broken, and disheveled. But through my lens they remained alluring. The darkroom got me closer to my dolls. As they developed, I became obsessed with the construction of beauty and what it means to be a woman.
Bio
I grew up in the City of Eternal Spring. My diaristic approach explores the material culture of femininity in work that keeps asking, What makes a woman? What makes a life? Hand-dyeing, ripping, stretching, wrapping, and layering nylon stockings is one of my techniques. My process unravels a web of fine threads revealing a graphic vocabulary of gusseted lines and ovals that evoke the human form, while suggesting how we push, pull, tear, restitch, reshape, and mend ourselves continually.
Dual Citizen: U.S., Colombia
Lives and works in NYC and Greenport
EDUCATION
2006 BFA in Visual Arts, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 Leap Year, VSOP Projects, Greenport, NY
2013 On Cloud 9, Wonderland Beauty Parlor, New York, NY
2008 Seven Out Of Seven, Bridge Gallery, New York, NY
2006 Soft Bodies, University Museum, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
My Love Is Your Love, Every Woman Biennial, Copeland Gallery, London, U.K.
Keep On Keepin’ On: 2021 Annual Postcard Show, A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
The International Postcard Show, Surface Gallery, Nottingham, U.K.
8×8 Art On Paper Season 2, Flat File Gallery, New York, NY
2020
20 x 20 Art Show, VSOP Projects, Greenport, NY
Dot Dot Dash, Surface Gallery, Nottingham, U.K.
Deep Blue See, Ground Floor Gallery, curated by Krista Scenna, April 1—June 1, Brooklyn, NY
Women’s History Month, Finsbury, Commissioned installation by VSOP Projects, New York, NY
Suffrage and Struggle: Feminist Art and the 19thAmendment Centennial, Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery, juried by Jan Howard, Chief Curator at RISD Museum, Newport, RI
SHE: an expression of womanhood, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, Kay Daugherty Gallery, juried by Camy Clough from the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, February 14—September 27, Solomons, MD
Fe *Mail* Art: 2020 Postcard Exhibition, A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2019
10×10 Art Show, VSOP Projects, Greenport, NY
PULSE Art Fair, Treat Gallery, December 5-8, Miami Beach, FL
Satellite Art Fair, Treat Gallery, October 3-6, Brooklyn, NY
Priority Mail: 2019 Mail Art Biennial, Ground Floor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
small works from big hearts, The South Street Gallery, Greenport, NY
small works 2019, AlterWork Studios, Selected by Tim Kelly, Long Island City, NY
2018
10×10 Art Show, The South Street Gallery, Greenport, NY
SPECTRUM: exploring gender identification, MCLA Gallery 51, Selected by Arthur De Bow, North Adams, MA
Edging Forward: New Prints 2018/Winter, International Print Center New York IPCNY, Selected by Miguel Aragón, Natasha Becker, Pepe Coronado, Bernard Lumpkin, Jennifer Melby, and Mark Waskow, New York, NY
2017
10×10 Art Show, The South Street Gallery, Greenport, NY
Backlot Art Festival, Kaufman Art District, Queens Council on the Arts Gallery, Astoria, NY,
2012
Double Decker Grand Salon Show, Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Hit it. Scrapped, Issue 1. Art magazine, Red Roots Gallery-25CPW, New York, NY
2011
Toys & Games With A Twist, Curate NYC, Longwood Art Gallery, Bronx, NY
Toys & Games With A Twist, Curate NYC, Online Exhibition selected by Danielle Burns, Curator at The Houston Museum of African American Culture and Courtney Wendroff, Visual Arts Director, Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC.) New York, NY
NURTUREart Benefit, curated by Pamela Auchincloss, David Cohen, James Kalm and Gregory Volk, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY
2010
Works On Paper, Bridge Gallery, New York, NY
What Would You Do? Ivy Brown Gallery, New York, NY
2006
Ego-Eco, Centre Loisir et Culture, Paris, France
Dot-Dot-Dot, The Chamber of Commerce of Medellín for Antioquia, Headquarter Downtown, Medellín, Colombia
Click2, The Garage Gallery, Bogotá, Colombia
The Book And The Visual Arts, Hall of Books from emerging artists, Corferias XIX International Book Fair, Bogotá, Colombia [Digital Catalog]
Topology: Matter in Motion, XIV Bilbao Viscaya Bank Hall of Art, The Colombian Mint House Art Collection, Museum owned by the Republic Bank, Bogotá, Colombia [Catalog]
Serigraphy Of The Art School, Hall of Exhibitions Central Library, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
2005
Fragments Of My Neighborhood, Itinerant Photography Exhibition: Trolley wheel station, Santo Domingo, El Poblado park, Stadium Station, Botero Plaza, Metro rail Car 17 (inside), Medellín, Colombia [Catalog]
XIV Visual Arts National Hall, University Museum, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia [Catalog]
School Of Arts 25 Anniversary Celebration at the Graphic Area, Marco Fidel Suárez Library, Lola Vélez Gallery, Bello, Antioquia, Colombia
3rd Art Auction, Paraninfo University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
2003
Video as Artistic Expression, Catholic University of the East, Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia
Diverse 2nd, Marco Fidel Suárez Library, Lola Vélez Gallery, Bello, Antioquia, Colombia
1st Art Auction, Paraninfo University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
PRESS
2013
Interview by Courtney Porkoláb, November 14, Lifestyle Mirror, [Online Magazine]
“Mónica Vélez at Wonderland Beauty” by Tiffany Yannetta, Monday, July 8, 2013, Rackedwire, New York [Online Magazine]
2012
“Hit it”. Scrapped, Issue 1: August 23 New York, NY [Art Magazine]
2011
“Bronx Art Gallery Features Toys And Games With A Twist: Uses Barbies and Board Games To Examine Thorny Social Issues” — multi-media exhibition tackles stereotypes, gender roles and consumerism. New York Daily News: December 2, New York, NY [Newspaper]
2010
Feel Me ll. Apartment Therapy, Design Evening: September 15, Knoll Showroom, New York, NY [Presentation]
2008
The Spice Is Right. Critic’s pick Time Out New York / Issue 674: Aug 28–Sep 3. New York, NY, [Magazine]
2006
School Of Arts 25th Anniversary, Building Art And Culture. First Edition University of Antioquia, Faculty of Arts, Medellín, Colombia [Book Cover Artwork]
De Jeunes Artistes Colombiens Bourrés De Talent. L’Écho, Le Régional. Plaine de France. Mercredi 22 novembre, page 42, Ezanville, France [Newspaper]
Art That Goes From The Earth To The Space, Life and Culture, El Colombiano, Friday, February 17th, Medellín, Colombia [National Newspaper]
The Garage, A Space For Artists. El Parche, El Tiempo Zona, August 24th through 30th, Bogotá, Colombia [National Newspaper]
The Movement: Art And Part. Paisas At The XIV Bilbao Viscaya Bank Hall of Art. Wednesday, December 20th. El Mundo, Medellín, Colombia [National Newspaper]
2005
Arts The Magazine #10 Vol.5, University of Antioquia. Faculty of Arts, Medellín, Colombia Jul-Dec [Art Magazine Cover Photography]
XIV Visual Arts National Hall. Conceptual Maturity And Quality Technique. Alma Mater #537 October, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia [Newspaper]
AWARDS
2012
Winner of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures NALAC “Agua Pasa Por Mi casa, Cate De Mi Corazón” holiday art design, San Antonio, TX, USA
2009
Recipient of the Individual Artist Initiative program from the Queens Council on The Arts, Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Queens, NY, USA
2005
Special Acknowledgment in the XIV Visual Arts National Hall. National Awards of Culture, University Museum, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia [Catalog]