^{Photographed by Jimena Peck.}  

Biography

Monica Curiel (b. 1993, Dallas, Texas) is a first-generation Mexican American multidisciplinary artist. Her works, crafted from spackling paste, plaster, and other construction materials, serve as a conduit to her Mexican heritage. Spanning relief paintings, art objects, lighting sculptures, and sculptural furnishings, each piece draws from techniques learned alongside her father on construction sites.

Curiel earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Kansas in 2021. During her studies, she attended Florence University of the Arts in Italy as a Gilman Scholar in 2018. Studying fashion design, interior architecture, and fine art, these educational experiences have shaped her practice, combining traditional craftsmanship with contemporary art and design. In 2024, she participated in an artist residency at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado. In 2023 Curiel was named to the American Design Hot List by Sight Unseen. Notable exhibitions include This Is America at Alcova during Milan Design Week in 2022 and Art In The Time Of Corona™ on Artsy in 2021.

Curiel's approach is rooted in her personal and familial experiences, honoring the craft and hand-making process with a blend of American and Mexican influences. She embraces elements traditionally categorized as 'art' or 'design' to challenge the conventional boundaries and classifications of artistic pieces, disrupting categorical perceptions. By prioritizing materials and textures over vibrant Mexican colors often associated with Mexican-derived art, she aims to challenge stereotypes associated with her background.

Placing her pieces in spaces reminiscent of where she worked alongside her mother, Curiel reclaims space and identity. These artworks embody both the cultural heritage passed down from her parents and the practical wisdom of their skilled craftsmanship. Drawing from memories like the sight of wet clothes drying after a river bath, Curiel's artworks explore themes of memory, labor, and cultural identity, inviting a reinterpretation of what constitutes art and design within contemporary discourse.