This gouache on paper work by Monique Prieto entitled ‘Clouds’ exemplifies the artist’s characteristic use of abstract forms, employing a range of contrasting colors which play off one another in a visual conflict across the surface. Framed by a curtain of gray, dynamic shapes of blue, green, and red fill the composition with their energetic forms and a sense of playfulness.

Known for her abstract paintings and drawings of animated amorphous blobs of color and forms, Monique Prieto (B. 1962) infuses a sense of the narrative in each of her works, with each shape becoming a character, an object, or a feeling which is being expressed and translated onto the surface. Though abstract, she creates work under the influence of allegories, current events, and personal experiences, with every piece becoming an embodiment of issues relating to her artistic process. The artist received her MFA and BFA from the California Institute of the Arts (Los Angeles, CA) and was the recipient of the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant in 1998. The artist has exhibited at numerous venues including Cheim & Read (New York, NY), Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (Wolfsburg, Germany), Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR), and the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, CA), among others.

Select Public Collections:
Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY)
Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, CA)
Museum of Contemporary Art (San Diego, CA)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA)
Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX)