Where do I start with this one. I discovered Monica Canilao (on my own - I'm very proud of this fact) three years ago whilst dangerously browsing The Tate Modern bookshop. I instantly fell in love with her charming naive hand, confident use of colour and the stunning and bizarre use of college and texture within her work. The book was bought within two minutes flat (is wasn't a Saturday) and three years on I am still falling over undiscovered details on each page. Her work has never stopped inspiring me, and have insisted in showing my teeny book to my second year BA students for the following years after. "weight of lines look!" "use of colour, take note"
"unusual compositions!" "DO IT!"
Monica's work shows ultimate freedom of creativity (jealous), working on whatever scale, with whatever salvaged raw materials and colour palettes... Not only successful as an artist, Monica has the confidence to apply her ideas to anything she turns her hand too albeit huge wooden installations, to embroidered one of hand made wallet purses, hand stitched shoes to large scale drawings, paintings and colleges. I admire the fact her ideas can not be pigeon holed, it just is what it is.
"In the heart of Oakland, California, Monica Canilao spends her days stitching, painting, printing, and breathing life into the refuse that dominates our time and place. Moving across media, sometimes with friends and sometimes alone, Canilao makes a delicate visual record of the personal and communal.
She received a BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts and has shown in galleries, community spaces, abandoned places and Ö worldwide" - Bio, www.monicacanilao.com
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