Spotlight Artist

Monica Mohnot

West
Artist profile photo

Shifting Forms Mind Map Series #11

Abstract textile art with colorful organic shapes and lines on a muted background.

painting, textile, hand-woven on jacquard loom, cotton yarn, vinyl, dye, and embroidery perlé cotton thread

Shifting Forms Mind Map Series #9

Abstract tapestry with colorful organic shapes in blue, yellow, tan, and red.

painting, textile, hand-woven on jacquard loom, cotton yarn, vinyl, dye, and embroidery perlé cotton thread

Shifting Forms Mind Map Series #1

Abstract textile art with colorful organic shapes in blue, pink, orange, and yellow.

painting, textile, hand-woven on jacquard loom, cotton yarn, vinyl, dye, and embroidery perlé cotton thread

Featured in New American Paintings1 / 3

Artist Statement

 My artistic practice explores the evolving nature of identity by weaving together culture, memory, and transformation. As an Indian American artist, I navigate tradition and modernity, the personal and collective, through an expanded definition of painting that incorporates textiles, collage, and print. I construct complex compositions digitally and bring them to life on a jacquard loom or by collaging found fabrics. These woven forms—layered with dyeing, painting, embroidery, and vinyl—echo brushstrokes while evoking landscapes and bodily imprints.

By merging contemporary digital tools with traditional South Asian textile methods, I honor generational labor and domestic histories, particularly the overlooked work of women in the diaspora. Materiality and visual storytelling are central to my process, as I use textiles to explore identity, gender, and belonging.

I aim to create a sensory experience for viewers, inviting them to engage both visually and physically. My layered surfaces evoke abstract landscapes that spark personal reflection, encouraging audiences to uncover their own stories within the textures. In doing so, I blur boundaries between painting and textile, memory and form.

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