Meet Monica Lundy | Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Monica Lundy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Monica, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I once found myself alone in the desert surrounded by a pack of wild dogs. It was a moment in which everything was on the line. I realized that my best chance of survival was to be fearless, but not excitable, and proceed with confidence and calmness- knowing it might be the last thing I did. I think this is a good rule of thumb to apply to most risky situations in both life and work.

Without risk, life would feel like a kind of Purgatory. It is by putting yourself at risk that you can understand your fears, develop new courage, and grow.

There is nothing more liberating and simultaneously harrowing than working for oneself. Being an artist is not an easy path, but there is freedom in it. The studio (my “office”) is a sacred space that is an extension of myself- where I can revel in strange ideas, battle out less successful ideas, and be my truest, uninhibited self.

Accepting risk has been vital in my life and work to overcome fears that were holding me back, open new doors and accelerate both personal and creative growth. It is fundamental for professional artists to continually accept the challenges that arise in the process of pushing one’s vision or career forward, such as risking rejection, damaging relationships, or worse. Often times, when I have made decisions where I felt like I was about to jump off the proverbial cliff, life then blossomed in ways I didn’t think possible.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Recently I came across a photo of myself at 3 years old, standing in front of my easel, half naked, with my paintings pinned to the wall behind me. Looking at this makes me laugh, because I realized that it’s a photo of me in my first studio, doing the same thing I do now, and that maybe nothing much has changed about my nature since then. It also shows me that I didn’t ever “decide” to be an artist; I have just always been one.

Today, in the studio, I’m on a quest to find the perfect magenta (it’s not as easy as it sounds). I’m working on a series of “dot paintings” for my upcoming fall exhibition and I’m reveling in using pure color. These are actually portrait paintings, but up close the image breaks apart into thousands of colorful dots, each one being a vivid, delicious color.

My work is best known for its focus on historical portraiture, unconventional painting media and techniques, and site-specific installations, which have been featured in unusual locations such as Alcatraz Island and a decommissioned psychiatric hospital in Rome, among other places. My work investigates the intersection of psychology and history, with an emphasis on female narratives, often examining individuals who have found themselves on the periphery of society. Perhaps this curiosity began developing when I was a young girl living in Saudi Arabia, where I was thrown into a barbaric foreign culture and suddenly found myself being treated as a “second-class citizen”, or worse; a commodity with which to be bartered. How I got here from there feels like a quantum leap – like a thousand lives lived- and no, none of it was “easy”.

I fined a touch of masochism helps persevere in the art world, as it is fraught with rejection. One must endure being knocked down, or feeling invisible, and stay the course at all costs. I’ve never shied away from a challenge, and often find that they even galvanize my desire to push myself harder in the studio- to be more courageous in experimentation, paint more, and amplify my creative lexicon.

I imagine it also helps that I’m not interested in anything that comes too easily, and have learned that making radical life changes in order to pursue my artistic growth and career has often been necessary. My life has taken many sharp turns over the years, and around each corner has always been an extraordinary, unexpected surprise.

I have moved between several countries and countless cities, and still travel extensively to nurture my artistic practice. I simply enjoy the thrill of adventure that comes with immersing myself in new environments and experiences, and find comfort in growing my global “art family”. At one point, I found myself living in Rome, after completing a residency at the American Academy in Rome. I grew to appreciate the Italian approach to life, which places importance on nurturing relationships and enjoying “down time”, more so than what I have experienced here in the US. Since then, I have taken a page from the Italians. Now I allow myself a day off every now and again to be around my people, go to the seaside (or countryside), and occasionally delight in a 4-hour lunch around a long table with fellow artists, collectors and curators, and perhaps one too many bottles of wine.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would start with a coffee in the studio, not only because I have the best coffee (Nespresso), but I also have gorgeous sweeping views of DTLA and the San Gabriel Mountains.

Then I would head up PCH to have lunch with my toes in the sand at Shoreline Cafe in Santa Barbara, followed by avocado picking and a sunset cocktail up at my family’s avocado and agave (mezcal) farm up near the Los Padres National Forest, with a breathtaking view overlooking rolling hills and the Pacific ocean.

That is actually a little itinerary of what I do whenever friends are visiting.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The innovative and formidable multimedia artist Daniele Puppi gets my Shoutout! Daniele is a visionary artist, and not only does his work blow my mind, but he is also an excellent person to go down the philosophical rabbit hole with, talking in depth about the pleasures and perils of the art world and being an artist.
Artists need to have deep, honest conversations with each other, not only to tease apart ideas about what we do and how we coexist with society, but also to build community. As the art critic Jerry Saltz says, as artists one needs to “find your vampires”.

Website: https://www.monicalundy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monicalundystudio/