Monica Loncola
Inspired by nature, Monica Loncola creates original works that reflect her love of patterns, fractals, forms and color in all flora and fauna. "My art explores a primal attraction to objects that stop me in my tracks by a guttural pull to render what I see. I’m fascinated by the contrast between an object’s interior vs. exterior. My intention is to bring the viewer into an intimate space of observation.”
A native of Monmouth County, Ms. Loncola’s favorite place is along the coastline of rivers and oceans. Collecting and drawing these tideline treasures is a life long passion for the artist. “What fascinates me is the bounty of living organisms thriving in symbiosis against the elements of nature.” The artist is intrigued by new life growing from decay found at tidelines. She takes her queue from Mother Nature and creates her own stylized version of her subject matter. “It’s the cycle of life on all levels.”
Her first commission at age 15, was to create an oil painting of the Navesink River for the Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant, Rumson NJ. now the present location of the Salt Creek Grill. Her first exhibit at the age of 18 was at Nena’s Choice Gallery in Bergdorf Goodman, NYC. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Museo de la Historia, and Museo Castillo Serralles, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Her work has been exhibited in NYC, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Long Island, New Jersey, Miami , Palm Beach, Key West, San Juan, Ponce, Puerto Rico,Tokyo, San Francisco, San Jose, and The Gambia, West Africa, in the US State Department in the Art in the Embassies Program. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Angels on Earth, Spotlight magazine, Edible Long Island, Philadelphia Inquirer, Art Times, Manhattan Arts among others. She has created large scale murals in the Dakota Building, NYC, and has work in the permanent collection of UCSF, San Francisco.
She sees her ability to paint and draw as a gift that should be shared with the world. “I consider my art “A Gift From Gaia.”
The artist spends her time equally between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans where she presently maintains a studio in the San Francisco Bay area and at ChaShaMA in Matawan, NJ.
Pacific Grove of Museum of Natural History: Illustrating Nature
I'm fascinated with the biodiversity of the natural world. As a child, I spent my summers at the ocean’s edge collecting shells, bones, and artifacts of nature. I drew intuitively and studied art formally at the university level. I’ve kept journals my entire life documenting my travels and experiences through drawings and annotations. I'm especially passionate about how nature survives cycles of life and death in harmony, destruction, and interdependence. Whenever I look into a microscope, I see the potential for a detailed illustration and an abstract painting simultaneously. Science Illustration is the perfect marriage of the two disciplines. My intention is to bring to the viewer through my unique perspective, knowledge of the world around us through accurate depictions of a situation or process. Combining science and art is the perfect platform to move forward with my passion to educate and convey how life forms, sustains, and decays all in keeping a profound balance for the sustainability of our planet.