Monica Curiel is a multidisciplinary artist and designer who transforms construction materials—such as spackling paste and plaster—into relief paintings, art objects, sculpture, furniture, and lighting. Born in Dallas to Mexican parents from Jalisco, she was introduced to these materials while working alongside her father on construction sites. These materials, often associated with labor and utility, carry deep cultural significance—frequently handled by immigrant workers like her parents, yet rarely celebrated. Curiel brings her work into spaces connected to her community’s service and labor, honoring those histories through objects of beauty and reverence. Her practice explores themes of identity, visibility, and cultural inheritance, reflecting on the familial and cultural forces that shape her story and community.
Please inquire via email at orders@monicacuriel.art to receive the current catalog & price list.
Grouted Lines XL, shown above, a relief painting composed of layered spackling paste. | Photographed by Ryan McDonald
Photographed by Jonathan Anders Hökklo
La Mari
2025
Spackling paste and acrylic paint on panel.
25.5" W × 31.5" H × 5" D
$3,056
La Mari is a textured spackling relief painting that draws from the rich iconography of mariachi vestments, reinterpreting elements of Jalisco’s regional Mexican culture through a contemporary material language. Available for acquisition through Lyle Gallery.
→To purchase, email: lin@thelyle.gallery
Photographed by Joe Kramm
Vase No. 1
2025
Spackling paste, plaster, foam, plywood, clay, acrylic paint, PVC.
19” H × 6” D
$1,500
Vase No. 1 features a surface gathered and ruched in delicate folds, drawing from the tactile vocabulary of garment construction and traditional fiber techniques. The piece blurs the boundaries between decorative object and sculptural form, synthesizing domestic textile gestures with industrial materials to honor the intertwined legacies of craft and labor within Curiel’s family heritage. Available for acquisition through Love House.
→ To purchase, email: info@lovehouseny.com
Photographed by Joe Kramm
Pedestal No. 1
2025
Spackling paste, plaster, foam, birchwood, clay, acrylic paint.
43” H × 20” W (base); top surface: 12.3” × 12.3”
$9,500
Pedestal No. 1 resembles layers of draped fabric cascading over a pedestal, embodying the intersection of handmade tradition and industrial materiality. The textured surface recalls the fluid folds of fabric and the weight of woven forms. This singular sculptural work stands as a quiet monument to labor, memory, and the material languages passed through generations, reflecting a personal and cultural lineage embedded in both craft and family. Available for acquisition through Love House.
→ To purchase, email: info@lovehouseny.com
Photographed by Jimena Peck
Tela Chair
Plaster, spackling paste, foam core, birchwood, clay, Roman clay, acrylic paint, and topcoat sealer.
33" W x 32" H x 26" D
$13,125
The Tela Chair is a functional sculpture that reflects Curiel’s heritage. The process of layering plaster on wood creates a piece that resembles soft fabric, all crafted entirely by hand.
→ To purchase, click here.
Photographed by Joe Kramm
Ser
2025
Spackling paste, plaster, and Roman clay, acrylic paint on panel.
41” W × 70” H × 3” D
$10,500
Ser investigates pleated surfaces through a textured dialogue between contemporary Western fashion and Jalisco’s region-specific fiber traditions. The piece honors the intimate labor of Curiel’s mother alongside the industrial materials her father used in his work. Rooted in nostalgia and material lineage, Ser explores themes of femininity, labor, and cultural inheritance through sculpted folds that recall fabric drapery. Available for acquisition through Love House.
→ To purchase, email: info@lovehouseny.com
Video by Rithwick Chary