Monica Kim Garza has gained widespread recognition through her vibrant portrayals of women of color. The Mexican Korean artist rejects the male gaze, celebrating confident and uninhibited women through her figurative works. Visually, her paintings are lively and instantly recognizable, presenting women engaging in leisurely activities and enjoying themselves. Garza experiments with form and contour, reimagining the classical female nude in oil, acrylic, and collage on canvas. Her impressionist and expressionistic brushwork and figures are pushed into abstraction, the heavy layering of paint punctuated by mixed media––yarn, wool, glitter––affixed to the surface like accessories. Inspired by her own memories, the artist depicts her daily life and adventures at home and abroad with friends and family. Ultimately, Garza’s process of creating her paintings is a walk through nostalgia and discovery.