about monica shulman
Monica Shulman is an artist living and working in the Hudson Valley of New York. Building on the traditions of abstract expressionism, her paintings explore overlapping themes of the human condition, identity, memory and elements of nature.
Bio
Monica Shulman is a New York-based artist whose brand of gestural abstraction is a form of story-telling. Rooted in the traditions of abstract expressionism, Monica’s world is best described as colorful and rhythmic and her paintings reflect an evolving universe where communication is less concrete.
Primarily self-taught, Monica creates sculptural surfaces through her heavily layered impasto technique and her paintings exhibit a compulsive energy and the dynamic tension between reckless abandon and careful restraint. She engages the medium itself, specifically oil paint and oil pastel, as a participant in both her abstract and figurative works.
Emerging from the fluidity of her visual language and diverse mark-making, her process-oriented work explores overlapping themes of the human condition, identity, memory, elements of nature and self-reflection. Monica is a first generation American strongly tied to both her Cuban and Argentinian roots. She’s a former lawyer who left her career over 15 years ago to focus on her art practice full-time and she lives and works in the lower Hudson Valley with her husband and their children.
Monica has been featured in various publications including The Washington Post, Popular Photography, Create Magazine, Art Seen and Westchester Magazine. In 2019, the Director of PULSE Art Fair in Miami invited Monica to participate in the “Next Generation” exhibit to celebrate the fair’s 15th anniversary. She was inducted into the National Association of Women Artists in 2022. Her work has been shown at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City, the National Association of Women Artists, Frieze Los Angeles, Art Market Hamptons, PULSE Art Fair, The National Arts Club, and the New York Mercantile Exchange, among others.
about my work and process
My painting process is a developing story and conversation between my materials and myself. As a former attorney, the two sides of my brain are often collaborating instead of working against each other and these sensibilities create a shared history on my canvases. I started my career as a photographer and that experience created a strong sense of light, structure and subject. Eventually, I became most interested in the negative space around my intended subject and scene I was observing and I organically started to develop an abstract language.
Primarily rooted in abstract expressionism, my paintings reflect an evolving universe where communication is less concrete. As an artist who is also a writer with an obsessive diaristic habit and who constantly records moments and takes photographs, my paintings are born out of my own stories. For me, the narrative I’m creating becomes secondary to the narrative a viewer creates for themself as my paintings, using rhythmic color, layers, shapes, marks and lines, evoke memories and invite you to meditate on your own personal histories.
Learn more about me and my practice by clicking any of these links:
Monica Shulman’s Art Practice and Artist Statement
Artist Statement about the “Nine” series
Artist Statement about “The Storm We Weathered” series
WORK with monica shulman
Since the beginning of my career I’ve had the pleasure of working with private collectors, art dealers, television producers, interior designers, bloggers, influencers, real estate developers, galleries, curators, shop owners and more. If you would like to learn more, work together or collaborate on a project, please email us at hello@monicashulman.com.
Monica is available for commissions. Click here to learn more.
