Monica Paterson
Taema and Tilafaiga
Framed ILFORD cotton rag art print
305mm x 380mm, 2023
$300

This artwork is part of a pop-up exhibition, 'Mafine Tusiata' at Kū Kahiko Gallery, Moana Fresh, 11th November, 2023.

About the artist

Monica Paterson is a painter living on the North Shore in Auckland with her husband and two teenage girls. Monica has studied art/ fabric and graphic design at Unitec and AUT.  She was a graphic designer at TV3 and in 2004 left to have her family and has been painting in oils and acrylic since 2012. Since then Monica has been involved in many group shows and her work is in many private collections. She has been an Artist in Residence at Corbans Arts Estate in Henderson and has recently spent time in Whanganui for the Glasgow St Residency.

Monicaʻs work focuses on a female-centric narrative that connects to her mother’s Samoan lineage using imagery and colour that is inspired by this love of Pacific art. These bold vibrant and sometimes chaotic scenes are influenced also by her interest in folk art and her love of illustration. The works stem from myths, dreams or tales told and passed on. The painterly female subjects are goddesses, ghosts or beloved family long lost. Themes of love and human connection are always interwoven into the narrative.