Alyssa Monks: Breaking Point

Breaking Point

F O R U M G A LLE RY New York

Alyssa Monks

Alyssa Monks Breaking Point October 4 – November 3, 2018

F O R U M G A LLE RY New York

Alyssa Monks In this latest body of work, Alyssa Monks touches the innermost nerves of her subjects and of the viewer as well with works that engage, confront and compel in bold synchrony. The subjects are women, individuals but social beings, suffused, as is the artist, with boundless energy and limitless passion, always aware of the attention they command yet knowing that their sacred, personal spaces must remain so.

Each painting is the organic product of Monks’ perpetual, forward motion, the quest for place, for role, for the communicative power to enrich. She is dedicated to this as is none other, devoting twice as much space in her Brooklyn apartment to her work as to her personal living, and working long days for weeks on end without a break.

As she bends, twists, and realigns the elements of a painting, she is engaging in a dialogue of mystery and faith with no time limit for its end. She will continue until she stops, until she feels she has no more to contribute to the work, until the work tells her it’s done.

Often, she will move on to the next work and return to the previous, searching, adding and changing with forceful decisions, never satisfied until she is.

Breaking Point These works are no less than paintings of the human condition, more particularly woman’s condition today.

We live in a time of extraordinary tension and pressure, a time when all of us feel the need to stay alert, aware and on guard against dilution of our values; and more so for women in the era of #MeToo. The challenge creates opposing action, a turgid undercurrent of testing pushing the limits of personal power. Monks’ subjects leave the picture plane behind as they emerge from the natural world they inhabit, prepared to press and break through emergent boundaries. For they have so much to give, such apparent strength, intellect, sensitivity and beauty that we must want them close to us, to observe, to interact with, to know. And the true measure of Alyssa Monks’ unique talent is that we do know them. Her paintings introduce us and then, over time, develop our relationships. This is the gift that enables our penetration of the psyches in Monks’ paintings, the gift that makes her a unique artist.

Elpis The largest canvas in the exhibition, Elpis, 68 x 86 inches, is one of the most

detail: Pine, 2018, oil on linen, 36 x 36 inches

powerful. In Greek mythology, Elpis is the personification and spirit of hope, and hope is all that is retained in Pandora’s infamous box. For Alyssa Monks, Elpis preserves this identity and adds the strength and substance that belies myth and encapsulates reality. The painting sets the senses in motion, connecting with us at every intersection as the work weaves its complex web before and around us.

The light in the painting leads the eyes across and the powerful gaze of the subject leaves no question of focus. The moment to move forward is here, and, although the hidden struggles continue, they will recede.

Deaf, Mired, Shield, Tangled, Wanting, Unfold, Pine The array of feelings presented by Alyssa Monks in furtherance of the momentum towards empowerment is a tapestry of human emotion, beginning with desire and continuing through the veil of hidden struggle and adversity to the ultimate realization that it’s an endless marathon. As we take the journey with Alyssa Monks, we are able to share the

intimate moments of helplessness and the more sanguine breakthroughs as simultaneous observers and participants.

So apparent and keenly felt are the emotions in these moments that the titles are nearly superfluous. Recognition of our own experience is the connection that makes each painting meaningful.

Evolving, Trance, Kali, Daphne, I Said No There is no conclusion, no resolution to the dilemma the Artist explores in the exhibition Breaking Point; the search for that point goes on. But at places along the way, she and her subjects reach plateaus of feeling, temporary respites from their ongoing travails.

These plateaus are resolutions enabled by decision, decision informed by experience. Alyssa Monks has reached these plateaus herself, and now gives us the opportunity to feel what she feels on reaching them. We need the enrichment of these human feelings, perhaps now more than ever, and they are on display for us in Breaking Point.

— Robert Fishko, September 2018

Evolving, 2018 oil on linen 66 x 56 inches Collection of Ken Fry and Rochelle Benavides

Kali, 2018 oil on linen 58 x 36 inches

I Said No, 2018 oil on linen 36 x 36 inches

Elpis, 2018 oil on linen 68 x 86 inches

Mired, 2018 oil on linen 30 x 30 inches

Wanting, 2018 oil on linen 40 x 40 inches

Daphne, 2018 oil on linen 48 x 48 inches

Unfold, 2018 oil on linen 66 x 56 inches

Pine, 2018 oil on linen 36 x 36 inches Collection of Colin and Rosemary Bodell

Deaf, 2018 oil on linen 30 x 30 inches

Shield, 2018 oil on linen 36 x 36 inches

Tangled, 2018 oil on linen 30 x 30 inches

Alyssa Monks detail: Daphne,

2018, oil on linen, 48 x 48 inches

BORN November 27, 1977 E DUCATION 2001

M.F.A. cum laude, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

1999

B.A. cum laude, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA

1998

Lorenzo de’ Medici, The Italian International Institute, Florence, Italy

SOLO EXH I B ITION S 2018

Breaking Point, Forum Gallery, New York, NY

Spirit Sounds, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID

2017

Alyssa Monks, Pontone Gallery, London, UK

2016

Resolution, Forum Gallery, New York, NY

2015 Nexxus Exxpress Yourself: A New York Fashion Week Event, Nexxus New York Salon, New York, NY 2013

Rolls-Royce Icons of Art Series, Walker Tower, New York, NY

Presence, Blue Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2012

Small Works, Sarah Bain Gallery, Brea, CA

2010

Fixation, David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI

GROU P EXH I B ITION S 2018 Forum Gallery: Second Annual Southampton Exhibition, MM Fine Art, Southampton, NY

Objects of Desire: Summer Survey, Bernarducci Gallery, New York, NY

Natural Proclivities, Shirley Fiterman Art Center, New York, NY

The New Baroque, Booth Gallery, NY

Peers & Influences, The Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus, GA

Artists by Artists: The Artist as Subject, Forum Gallery, New York, NY

Favorite Things: A Holiday Exhibition, Forum Gallery, New York, NY

2017

Introduction, Pontone Gallery, London

Seeing With Our Own Eyes, Forum Gallery, New York, NY

Forum Gallery Celebrates 55 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 2016–17 C ontemporary Old Masters, Louisiana Art & Sci­ ence Museum, Baton Rouge, LA 2016

Hour by Hour, Q Art Salon, Santa Ana, CA

American Views, Forum Gallery, New York, NY

20/21—Visionary Artists of the 21st Century, Forum Gallery, New York, NY

Oil and Water, DFN Gallery, New York, NY

2009

New Paintings, Sarah Bain Gallery, Brea, CA

New Paintings, DFN Gallery, New York, NY

Water |Bodies, New York Academy of Art at South­ ampton Arts Center, Southampton, NY

2008

Flesh Painting, Sarah Bain Gallery, Brea, CA

2015

Nature Unbound, Forum Gallery, New York, NY

2007

New Paintings, DFN Gallery, New York NY

Figurative I, Gallery 1261, Denver, CO

Next of Kin, Sarah Bain Gallery, Brea, CA

Unfurl, Gallery 1261, Denver, CO

2006

Below the Surface, Sarah Bain Gallery, Brea, CA

Making Faces, David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI

Dissolve, DFN Gallery, New York, NY

2005

New Paintings, Sarah Bain Gallery, Brea, CA

Body // Water, Carla Massoni Gallery, Chestertown, MD

2004

New Paintings, Sarah Bain Gallery, Brea, CA

2003

New Paintings, Sarah Bain Gallery, Brea, CA

2002

Surfacing, Sarah Bain Gallery, Brea, CA

The Artist’s Gaze: Seeing Women in the 21st | Century, Sirona Gallery, Hallandale Beach, FL 2014

Love It, Locket, Leave It, Island Weiss Gallery, New York, NY

Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, New York, NY

Contemporary Realism, Gallery 1261, Denver, CO

CRB: Contemporary Realism Biennial 2014, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN

The Windows View, Eno Gallery, Hillsborough, NC

Intimacy!: Baden in der Kunst, Kunstmuseum Ahlen, Ahlen, Germany

Between Realities, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA

2009 Water/Bodies, Eden Rock Gallery, St. Barthélemy, French West Indies

Re-presenting the Nude III, EVOKE Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM

Bods: Rethinking the Figure, Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, MI

Based on Actual Events, Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, NY

Baptized Catholic, Artbreak Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

2013 Small Is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London, United Kingdom Benetton Foundation’s Imago Mundi at the Venice Biennale, Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Italy Venice Biennale. Benetton Foundation’s Imago Mundi. Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice, Italy

Venice Biennale, Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice, Italy

The Looking Glass: Refraction Through the Female Gaze, Mirus Gallery, San Francisco, CA Nudes, Hespe Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2012 Saturation, Jensen Gallery, Sydney, Australia Nosebleed, Fuse Gallery, New York, NY Good for You, David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI

The Ones, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

Heads, Flowers Gallery, New York, NY

Love is in the Air, The Cell Theater, New York, NY

Reconfigured and Relocated, DFN Gallery, New York, NY Reconfiguring the Body in American Art, 1820— 2009, National Academy Museum and School, New York, NY Abstract/Nature, DFN Gallery, New York, NY Personal Territory, David Klein Gallery, Birming­ ham, MI

Paper Beings, Hespe Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2008

Dangerous Women, DFN Gallery, New York, NY

2007 Wet, DFN Gallery, New York, NY 2006 An Assessment of Contemporary Figuration, David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI 2001

Separate Visions, Sarah Bain Gallery, Brea, CA

Paint the Town Red, Rene Lezard, New York, NY

New York Academy of Art Student Exhibition, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

From What I Remember/From What I Forget, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA

AWARDS

2011 ICONOMANCY, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

2007 New York Academy of Art Summer Exhibition, First Prize, Juried Exhibition, New York, NY

Dark Water, CoproGallery, Santa Monica, CA

Paint Works, Gowanus Ballroom, Brooklyn, NY

Space Invaders, Rose Contemporary, Portland, ME

Breach of Privacy, Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles, CA e

Triple Threat, Island Weiss Gallery, New York, NY

Naked, Jensen Gallery, Sydney, Australia 2010 Uncovered, Eden Rock Gallery, St. Barthélemy, French West Indies Deck the Walls, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

Slideluck Potshow, Slideluck, Brooklyn, NY

2003–06 Grant for Painting, Elizabeth Greensheilds

Foundation, Québec, Canada 2001 Academy Balleroy Grant, Prince of Wales Founda­ tion and Forbes Foundation, Château de Balleroy, Normandy, France MEMBER 2010 – Present: Board of Trustees, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY S E LECTE D LECTU RE S, WORKS HOPS, AN D COU RS E S

Compact: Impact, The Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ

2018 Flemish Classical Atelier, Bruges, Belgium (work­ shop)

Fresh Figures & Abstraction, Scott White Contem­ porary Art, San Diego, CA Remnants, Fuse Gallery, New York, NY

2017 “First Annual National Juried Exhibition 2017,” Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Wausau, WI (juror, workshop)

Flashpoint: Alyssa Monks & Tom Birkner, Noyes Museum of Art, Stockton University, Oceanville, NJ

2016 “Painting: Transcending the Photo Reference,” The Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus, GA

2015 “The Beautiful Awful,” TED x Talks, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

The Compass Atelier, Artists and Makers Studios, Rockville, MD

University of Akron, Akron, OH

New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

2014

New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

2013

University of Tampa, Tampa, FL

Summer Arts Program, California State University, Long Beach, CA 2012

University of Louisville, Louisville, KY

2011 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA Weekend with the Masters Intensive Workshop, American Artist, New York, NY

Washington Art Association, Washington Depot, CT

The Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ

New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

2010

New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

2009

New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Landscape painting course, Carrara, Italy

2008

Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ

East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN

2007

Lyme Academy, Old Lyme, CT

Landscape painting course, Serre di Rapolano, Italy 2006 University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Fayetteville, AR PU B LICATION S AN D S E LECTE D ARTIC LE / REVI EWS Gusev, Mike. “Down to Earth – on a new level,” The Blue Review, July 25, 2018.

Maidman, Daniel. “Objects of Desire,” Poets and Artists, July 14, 2018.

Interview. Thomas, June. “The Real Artist Behind The Americans’ Fictional Painter Talks About Her Experience on the Show, Slate, April 6, 2018.

“The Americans: The Real-Life Russian Saga That Inspired the Final Season,” Vanity Fair, March 28, 2018 Solosky, Alexis. “‘The Americans’ Goes Dark(er), With Help From a Painter,” The New York Times, March 23, 2018.

Interview. “Challenge Your Thinking.” Dr. Linda Tucker Podcast, March 2017.

Lemmon, Jackie. “Alyssa Monks.” Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Mar. 2017, pp. 66–77.

Interview. “Alyssa Monks: Grace and Harmony.” Hoctok.

Web. 22 December 2016.

“Alyssa Monks: Resolution,” Blouin Gallery Guide, April 2016, p. 8-9 and cover.

“Alyssa Monks: Resolution.” American Art Collector, April 2016, pp. 90–91.

“30 Most Influential Women Artists Alive Today,” Graphic Design Degree Hub, February 2016 Zeller, Robert. The figurative artists handbook: a contemporary guide to figure drawing, painting, and composition. Monacelli Studio, 2016, p. 288-291.

Fischl, Eric, and Vincent Desiderio. Alyssa Monks: Oil & Water, 2005-2014. GHP Media, 2016.

“Alyssa Monks: Resolution,” Exhibition Catalogue, Forum Gallery, New York, 2016.

“Astonishing Photo-Realistic Portraits You Won’t Believe Were Painted by Hand.” CNN. Web. 23 October 2015.

Nadine, Ajaka. “The Rustic Renewal of a Brooklyn Artist.”

The Atlantic. Web. 20 October 2015.

Figueroa, Miguel. “Seeing Your True Colors.” Vamp Magazine, 15 October 2015, No. 4: p. 56-7.

Zhang, Jenny. Interview. “Photorealistic Oil Paintings Capture Intimate Portraits of Human Vulnerability.”

My Modern Met. Web. 12 October 2015.

Kaminska, Paulina. Interview. “Interview with Alyssa Monks.” Artophilia. Web. 6 October, 2015.

Dalton, John. Interview. “Creating the Space for Connections with Alyssa Monks.” John Dalton Art. Web. 13 September 2015.

Interview. “Alyssa Monks: The Illusion of Reality.” Silverlake Voice. Web. 2 September 2015.

The Moth, Summer 2015, No. 21: p. 4 and 30.

Interview. “Alyssa Monks: Hyper-Realistic Painting.” Issue No. 2016. Web. 12 August 2015.

“Think These Are Photos? Look Closely.” The San Francisco Globe. Web. 20 July 2015.

Lin, Christin. Interview. “Alyssa Monks: The Photograph as a Painter’s Bully and Helper.” Epoch Times. 20 June 2015.

Turnery, Sam. Interview. “Awesome Advice from Top Realism Artists.” Zippi. 22 May 2015.

Green, Rob. “Haunting and Intimate Paintings.” Wall Hop. Web. 15 April 2015.

Hafesh, Louise. “Snap and Chat.” The Artist’s Magazine, April 2015: cover and p. 46–51.

Robbins, Sarah. “Connection: An Essay by Alyssa Monks.”

Dirty Laundry Mag. Web. March 2015.

Webb, Shenyah. “Artist Feature: Alyssa Monks.” Nailed Magazine. Web. 4 February 2015.

Menedez, Didi. Interview. “Alyssa Monks: Self-Portraits.”

Oranges & Sardines, Summer 2009: cover.

McCann, Margaret. The Figure: Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture, New York, NY: Skira Rizzoli, 2014..

Ayers, Robert. “Review.” ARTnews, June 2009.

Piowaty, Deanna Elaine. “Women Under Glass: The Paintings of Alyssa Monks.” Combustus. Web. 7 September 2014.

Fenton, Laura. “Exclusive: Alyssa Monks Talks About Her Bathing Beauties.” Flavorwire. Web. 15 April 2009.

Hodges, Michael. “Photorealists Make Painting Come to Life.” The Detroit News. Web. March 2009.

Jacklitsch, Trent. Interview. “Alyssa Monks.” Vimeo. Web. July 2014.

Painter, Alysia Gray. “Los Angeles Art Show: Pucker Up and Kiss It.” NBC Los Angeles. Web. January 2009.

Jacklitsch, Trent. Interview. “Tone.” Vimeo. Web. July 2014.

Monks, Alyssa. “No Place Like Home.” Harper’s Magazine, November 2008: p. 31.

“Alyssa Monks: Where Realism and Abstraction Meet.”

Nuo Magazine. Web. 3 July 2014.

Keates, Nancy. “No Nudes is Good Nudes,” Wall Street Journal, February 2014.

Baldwin, Rosecrans. “Come Hell: Alyssa Monks.” The Morning News. Web. January 2008..

Price, Marsha. “Alyssa’s Brooklyn Artist Studio: Workspace Tour,” Apartment Therapy, online, 2013.

COLLECTION S

Marinho, Rafaela. “Artista Americana Alyssa Monks Cria Rostos Realistas Em Pinturas à Oleo.” GQ Brazil. Web. July 2012.

Howard Tullman

“Painter Renders Photographic Images,” Yahoo News, online, July 2012.

Danielle Steele

“Photoreal Paintings by Alyssa Monks.” Juxtapoz Magazine.

Web. 5 June 2012.

Eric Fischl Gerrity Lansing Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Art, Savannah, GA Fullerton College

Maidman, Daniel. “Rock and Roll.” HuffPost Arts & Culture.

Web. 27 May 2012.

Seavest Collection

Strick, Charlotte. “Women by Women.” The Paris Review, Winter 2011, No. 199.

The Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ

Lee-Tullis, James. Interview. “Picture Perfect? Introducing the Remarkable Hyperrealist Art of Alyssa Monks.”

Departures. Web. 10 December 2011.

FI LM & TE LEVI S ION FEATU RE S

Luciano Benetton

Romero, Karla. Interview. “Alyssa Monks: Interview.”

Humanize Magazine, 10 November 2011, No. 13: p. 26–43.

The Americans (television series), produced by Joel Fields and Joseph Weisberg, FX series, season 6, 2018, FX series, season 6, 2018

“Alyssa Monks: Metafora Claritatii in Difuziune,” Luxury Rich & Famous, November 2011.

The Beautiful Awful (filmed lecture), TEDx Talks, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 2015

The Blind Architect. Interview. “Empty Kingdom Interview: Alyssa Monks.” Empty Kingdom. Web. 6 June 2011.

“Alyssa Monks: Oil & Water,” Exhibition Catalogue, DFN Gallery, New York, 2010.

Cuffe, Michael. Interview. “Alyssa Monks: Contemporary Oil Artist Interview & Studio Visit.” Warholian. Web. 27 October 2010.

Rose, Joshua. “Alyssa Monks: Fixation.” American Art Collector. October 2010, No. 60: p. 156 and cover.

Li, David. “Her Art Really Imitates Life.” New York Post.

21 September 2010.

American Art Collector, January 2010: cover.

“Photo-realistic Paintings by Alyssa Monks.” Telegraph, September 2009.

“Artist Creates Incredible Paintings that Look Like Photographs.” Daily Mail, September 2009.

“Stunning Art that Looks Like Photos.” UK Metro, September 2009.

What Maisie Knew (film), directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, Millennium Films, 2013

Trance, 2018 oil on panel 12 x 18 inches

F O R U M G A LLE RY 475 Park Avenue at 57th Street New York, NY 10022 (212) 355 – 4545 forumgallery.com

cover:

Tangled, 2018 oil on linen 30 x 30 inches back cover detail:

Elpis, 2018 oil on linen 68 x 86 inches inside covers details: D E S I G N E D AN D PR O D U C E D BY HAN S TE E N S MA / I M PR E S S I N C.C O M P R I NTE D BY G H P, WE ST HAVE N , CT

Shield, 2018 oil on linen 36 x 36 inches

Breaking Point

F O R U M G A LLE RY New York

Alyssa Monks