Monica Canilao
2013 Eureka Fellow
Monica Canilao (Oakland) creates new forms from salvaged objects and weathered images. Her large fabric structures, installations and sculptures revitalize broken-down forms and celebrate the spirit of mutual aid and resourcefulness of marginalized communities. Her colors of parchment, wood, ore, rot and smoke mimic signs of decay and the stains of age and use. Using intricately layered organic and constructed materials, Monica’s pieces pay homage to traditional handicraft as well as fine art. Her recent installations in abandoned houses are collaborations between groups of artists and city residents struggling to adapt to dramatically shifting urban landscapes. A new series with scavenged 19th century parlor portraits rebuilds narratives of forgotten lives using latex paint, copper, feathers, cloth and other found materials. Her work has been shown at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco, Deitch Projects in New York, Black Rat Press in London, Di Rosa Preserve in Sonoma, CA, the Oakland Airport, Miami’s Scope Art Fair and many other spaces in the U.S. and internationally. She received her BFA from California College of the Arts (2005). Monica is a regular Visiting Artist and Instructor at the San Francisco Day School, and welcomes opportunities to share skills with persons of all ages. *Artist biography at time of award.
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