Monica Araoz Instructor

Monica Araoz Biography:

Please go to my website at: http://maraozgallery.com/statesman.html

The beauty I see in the texture of objects is what inspired me to create the abstract paintings
in my series "Touch". To me, it is very appealing to see how a myriad of forms are created inside the texture, and how these forms, which are created between the volumes of the peaks and valleys on the surface, play together to build patterns that unify all the different forms.

Through my work, I aim to make the beauty of the "texture" obvious by using it as the main subject of the painting and to provoke not only the sense of sight, but also the sense of touch.
I want to provoke that extra sensation that makes you want to touch what the eye is seeing.

To create my artwork and to avoid the flatness of 2D media (as in a canvas painting), I use a mixture of clay dust, sand, glass beads and acrylic polymers. When mixed together in different proportions and applied with knife on a flat canvas, I can create endless variations
of textures and 3D finishes.

On top of the texture, I like to add a calligraphy element to my paintings. This could be paint lines poured directly on the canvas, or signs carved on the fresh texture mixture on the canvas.

I believe that a final calligraphy touch is an open invitation to the observer to translate this element into something that she or he can understand or relate to. This interpretation opens up a door to take the observer into a whole new dimension to appreciate my art and its texture in the 3D level.

Monica Araoz.