Manos que pintan, a film by
Rithwick Chary

Monica Curiel is a multidisciplinary artist and designer who transforms construction materials, such as spackling paste and plaster, into relief paintings, art objects, sculptural furniture, and lighting. Born in Dallas to Mexican parents from Jalisco, she was introduced to these materials working alongside her father on construction sites, where they carried the weight of labor and cultural significance long before they became her medium.

Her practice recontextualizes materials typically handled by immigrant workers like her parents, rarely celebrated despite their centrality to built environments. Each work develops through a dialogue between her hand and the material, exploring its physical properties across form and function. By recontextualizing materials typically associated with utility, she creates works that engage perception, space, and use, positioning function as an extension of sculptural form while shifting how these materials are understood and experienced. Through objects of beauty and reverence, Curiel engages themes of identity, visibility, and cultural inheritance, honoring the familial and communal forces that shape her story.