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counting knuckles, the transformative art of monica wyatt

counting knuckles, the transformative art of monica wyatt

wyatt, in this show, has really hit her stride. the hanging sculptures in the main space are constructed with plastic vials and possess a delicate beauty and geometry that seem simultaneously random and rooted in a methodical and mathematical precision. this dichotomy runs throughout her work as well as the contrasts between textures: sleek plastic versus unruly fibers, machined, metal bobbins versus organic forms. her use of materials is sensitive, highlighting tactile qualities while sublimating their original, intended purposes. more…

april 30, 2022

artillery, gallery rounds: monica wyatt

artillery, gallery rounds: monica wyatt

monica wyatt’s “c u r i o u s e r – assemblage creations from wonderland” is a magical mystery tour of immersive experience. wyatt offers work that is, at turns, whimsical, wild, and ephemeral. created of repurposed materials, her detailed, intricate work floats and gleams, incandescent, dazzling sculptures created in large part during the pandemic, and transcending any sense of confinement. more…

april 28, 2022

voyagela: conversations with monica wyatt

voyagela: conversations with monica wyatt

“i grew up in santa barbara with my workaholic physicist/inventor dad, travel agent mom, two brothers, and a great dane and siamese cat rounding out our squad. during high school, i worked as my dad’s janitor and chief bottle washer. his dr. demento-like lab was a wonderland of invention, with petri dishes, test tubes, confounding gizmos, and lasers. Here i witnessed the spirit of creation, making something from nothing, which would come full circle for me many years later.” more…

april 22, 2022

la weekly, meet an artist monday: meet sculptural assemblage artist monica wyatt

la weekly, meet an artist monday: meet sculptural assemblage artist monica wyatt

monica wyatt is enamored of the textures, surfaces, eerie materiality and shapely splendor of overlooked, abandoned, utilitarian objects and their components. she’s especially intrigued when the tactile, reflective, strange bits and bobs are removed from their functional contexts, and gathered together en masse to generate something entirely new. more…

april 18, 2022

santa barbara news-press, dumpster-diving sculptor: abandoned objects become works of art for former santa barbaran

santa barbara news-press, dumpster-diving sculptor: abandoned objects become works of art for former santa barbaran

“are you nuts?”

this was practically the unanimous reaction of friends and colleagues when monica wyatt decided to leave her highly successful career as a tv producer/director to become a “dumpster-diving sculptor, drawing inspiration from abandoned, overlooked objects and turning them into poetic, sophisticated works of art.” more…

april 7, 2022

shesez podcast

shesez podcast

monica wyatt shares her journey from top tv producer (providence, relativity, my so called life, la law) to being an accomplished mixed media artist who reimagines unexpected and overlooked materials, transforming them into captivating sculptures. more…

april 5, 2022

art and cake: a lot of nothing adds up

art and cake: a lot of nothing adds up

 wyatt’s installation and wood and stone sculptures convey lonely outposts, a frigid landscape in one instance and an earthier grouping of totems in another. the installation, “when shadows chase the light”, is an agglomeration of clear empty spheres and barrel-shaped containers lighted from within, the elements held together with white gauzy material and string. referencing both clouds and a sort of synthetic ice flow, the installation suggests an organic landscape that is completely artificial. in “continuum”, wyatt arranges her upright wood and stone sculptures on a low platform, though they seem more likely to have been found on the beach. they are solemn and quiet, embodying a still, poetic place that attunes us to the mysteries of nature. more… 

november 27, 2019

artillery magazine, brand library and art center: the nothing that is

artillery magazine, brand library and art center: the nothing that is

artist monica wyatt also uses discarded and repurposed materials in her sculptures – stones and wood repurposed into ladder-like sculptures in “continuum,” as well as in “when shadows chase the light,” her truly radiant, enormous bubble balls of light that glow with joy in the main gallery space. both focus not on the elegiac but on the wondrous quality of new life from reimagined organic materials. if dean beautifully honors and re-dreams the past, wyatt translates a truly glorious sense of communion for the future, one that could be hopeful and connected. she offers a rectifying of lost purpose, or a visual redemption story, if you will. more…  

november 20, 2019

ventura blvd magazine, monica wyatt shares her sensational sculptures and mixed media works

ventura blvd magazine, monica wyatt shares her sensational sculptures and mixed media works

monica wyatt came by her chaotic creator role honestly. “i grew up in this dr. demento kind of aesthetic of materials,” she says. “my dad is a physicist-inventor, and as the weekend janitor and chief bottle washer for many years, i was surrounded by test tubes, lasers, petri dishes and other laboratory wonders. i would collect all types of found and broken knickknacks and fashion them into odd keepsakes, sometimes within glass petri dishes or test tubes from my dad’s lab.”  more…  

may, 2019

art and cake: walking upstream, a sophisticated, elegant, inspiring show at the loft in san pedro

art and cake: walking upstream, a sophisticated, elegant, inspiring show at the loft in san pedro

curators monica wyatt and david lovejoy have shaped a simply wondrous show. walking upstream features the beautiful, unique work of six artists: clare graham, joan robey, susan sironi, vincent tomczyk, christine weir, and tracey weiss. taken as a whole walking upstream is simply a fascinating show, one that demands viewers pay attention, watch, and do their best to comprehend the mystery, majesty, minutiae, and magic that is art.  more…  

december 8, 2018

fabrik magazine, museum of art & history (moah) cedar, Lancaster – monica wyatt: continuum

fabrik magazine, museum of art & history (moah) cedar, Lancaster – monica wyatt: continuum

monica wyatt’s mesmerizing solo exhibition continuum, takes the viewer for a ride through a theme park of the imagination. born of a synthesis of art and science—both artistic invention and intervention—formerly quotidian objects morph into dreamlike assemblage constructions. objects once forgotten, abandoned, discarded or overlooked are first re-envisioned, then reincarnated into prominent new roles as the components of whimsical creations held together with the glue of magic. more… 

january, 2018

diversions la, continuum is just getting started: monica wyatt at moah opens this weekend

diversions la, continuum is just getting started: monica wyatt at moah opens this weekend

“a lot of my newer work has become more sculptural, no longer rooted in a box. working towards this show has given me the space and mindset to play more purposefully with volume and large-scale composition.  it’s not so much exploring the history of the objects in a different way, but visually expanding on themes that interest me such as the daily markers of family, nature, and life cycles.” more…  

january 17, 2018

artist portfolio magazine: monica wyatt – abstracts art exhibit

artist portfolio magazine: monica wyatt – abstracts art exhibit

“my assemblages represent the three-dimensional stories that ignite my imagination: stories about relationships, childhood, time passage, nature, marriage, motherhood, and secrets never told. i’m completely enamored of materials, textures, and three-dimensional sculpture…the rustier and crustier the better!” more…  

october 3, 2016

eisenhauer gallery: monica wyatt sculpture

eisenhauer gallery: monica wyatt sculpture

wyatt’s work offers a permanent record of the things we take for granted. it’s heroic in the sense that parenting and friendship are heroic. each piece creates its own intimacy. monumental sculptures commemorate something already done. wyatt’s create and then confirm their various miraculous, everyday deeds. hers is an extraordinary body of work. it confirms that the greatest events are the ones that history overlooks. one or both parents care for a child. a trio of sisters talks on a bench. a friend shares a secret with another friend. her work shows that these are the things that we need to preserve for posterity. anonymous and unassuming people as they do whatever it is that makes them human. that’s what this work is about. more…

June 15, 2014

photo courtesy of the artist

eisenhauer gallery: sculpting life’s relationships with monica wyatt

eisenhauer gallery: sculpting life’s relationships with monica wyatt

“for me, the creative process is always unchartered territory. i don’t use models when i sculpt nor am i interested in replicating something that i see. instead, i draw inspiration from something that happened in my own life, or a gesture that made an impression, or a photo that i can’t get out of my head. and then i pick up a piece of clay to which i add more and the creative expedition begins! i love exaggerating proportions, trying to show something in a fresh, different and elegant way. it’s a very intuitive process.” more… 

september 1, 2014