John Monti is a sculptor and educator whose work explores the intersections between seductive beauty and the melancholic. Taking inspiration from historical botanical drawings, flora, the baroque, ornament, religious objects and custom- car culture his works are metaphorical abstractions, suggesting ineffable dense amalgams of twisting vines and flora, each playing out its own psychodrama.Often his sculptures are cast in resin and surfaced with glitter, candy colors and various finishes each creating a crossroad where beauty and seduction take a fateful turn.
Monti received a BS from Portland State University in painting and sociology, and later an MFA in sculpture from Pratt Institute. Monti has exhibited extensively both in museums and galleries, has been commissioned for sited public works and set designs for dance. Exhibitions include the Brooklyn Museum, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Sculpture Center, White Columns, Artists Space, Elizabeth Harris Gallery, Curt Marcus Gallery and the Wakita Museum of Art, Japan. His work is included in major private and public collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, The Weatherspoon Art Museum, The Eli Broad Family Foundation, The Portland Art Museum and the Wakita Museum of Art, Japan. Grants include the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Pollock Krasner Fellowship Grant, The New York Foundation for the Arts, The Rockefeller Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Monti’s work has been featured in many publications, including Artforum, Art in America, Sculpture Magazine, Arts Magazine, Artnews, The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.
Monti lives in Brooklyn, NY and is Professor of Graduate Fine Arts at Pratt Institute.
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