Monica Lundy

Artist Statement:

My work investigates the history of incarceration by implementing a diverse range of non-traditional, interdisciplinary painting materials and techniques, merging painting and sculpture.  Through my work I attempt to investigate how society determines “criminality” and how that perception changes as society itself evolves.  My work is based upon extensive research into historical documents and archival photographs.

Lundy’s mixed media paintings examine the history of incarceration by implementing a diverse range of non-traditional, interdisciplinary painting materials and techniques, merging painting, sculpture and installation.

Born in Portland, Oregon in 1974 and subsequently moved to Saudi Arabia in 1982, Lundy spent her formative years between the United States and the Middle East.  During this time she traveled around the world, experiencing different cultures and their traditions.  This shaped her awareness of, and curiosity about, divisions in cultural and social perceptions, particularly in regards to females.

From 1989 through 1991 she attended Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (now Idyllwild Arts Academy).  She went on to study painting and sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received a BFA in 1996.  In 2001 she spent a year studying painting in Florence, Italy, under the mentorship of Jules Maidoff, founder of Studio Art Centers International.  In 2010 she received a MFA from Mills College.

Monica Lundy was a recipient of the Jay DeFeo Award in 2010 and was a 2012 SECA nominee.  Her work has exhibited across the US, and in 2011 she was presented the unique opportunity to exhibit on Alcatraz Island, in the San Francisco Bay.  Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Visual Art Source and the San Francisco Chronicle.  She is currently represented by Toomey Tourell Fine Art in San Francisco, and lives and works in Oakland, CA.