Mónica Félix
Cayey, P.R., 1984
Biography Details
Photographer, installation and video artist. In 2006, she obtained her BA in Communications from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus (San Juan, PR), in 2008 she obtained a certificate in Photography and Digital Imaging from Pratt Institute (New York, USA) and in 2020 she graduated from Columbia University (New York, USA) with a master's degree in visual arts. Since 2010 she has been based in Brooklyn, New York City, seeking to pursue a career as a visual artist and professional photographer - and where she also practices as a yoga instructor. In 2012, she received the Lexus grant for artists from the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico and in the same year she presented her solo exhibition "Reinas" at the Museo de las Américas (San Juan, PR). She has participated in several group exhibitions, such as "FotoMAC", held at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico in 2011, and in the "Muestra Nacional" of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña in 2009, at the Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española (San Juan, PR). In her work she recreates everyday scenarios where she represents the female body questioning the colonized and the compromised. For the artist, the visual elements of photography, video, installation, writing and performance, allow her to know perspectives of her identity.
Artist Statement
“My body of work is about self-realization of identity and the representation of that multi-layered person. I am an artist living on a migratory path on and off of an island for more than 10 years. A trajectory that has only led me to trace what has shaped the consciousness of my ancestry. The vehicles for this exploration are photography, video installation and performance.”
Mónica Félix, 2020
Formation
Education
2020
- Master in Fine Arts, Columbia University, New York, United States
2007
- Certificate in Photography and Digital Imaging. Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, Nueva York, United States
2006
- Bachelors in Arts. Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan Puerto Rico
Professional Experience
2008-present
- Independent Professional Photographer. San Juan, Puerto Rico; New York, United States
2011
- Professor. Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, United States
2010
- Professor. Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007
- Collections Photographer. The Moving Image Museum, Astoria, New York, United States
2006-2007
- Junior Account Executive. Arco Advertising, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2005-2006
- Account Executive Assistant. Arco Advertising, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2005
- Internship. Arco Advertising, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2020
- Romance Tropical, Independently hosted Online Exhibition via www.monicafelix.com
2017
- Retrovisor, Open Studio Project, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2014
- Querida, Área, Caguas, Puerto Rico
2012
- Reina, Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2010
- Reina: 6 series on supremacy personified as a woman, CCPS Gallery, Pratt Institute Manhattan, New York, United States
2008
- Verde París: Crímenes Pasionales en Serie, José “Pepín” Méndez Gallery, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Goup Shows
2021
- SOMA Summer Exhibition, SOMA Gallery, México City, México
- MFA Thesis Exhibition, Wallach Art Gallery, New York, United States
2020
- Archivos, Visiones y Premoniciones, Taller Boricua, New York, United States
2019
- Islas imaginarias y el caso de Puerto Rico, CóMPLICES, Madrid, Spain
- Aesthetically Functional Only, 1675 Broadway, New York, United States
- El sujeto develado: Autoimagen y fotografía contemporánea en Puerto Rico, Museo de arte Dr. Pío López Martínez, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus, Cayey, Puerto Rico
- First Year Show, Wallach Art Gallery, New York, United States
2017
- Bestiario/Menagerie, Adobe Books Gallery, San Francisco, California, United States
- The Future is Female, The Storefront Project, New York, United States
- Debtfair/Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, United States
- Ida y Vuelta: experiencias de la migración en el arte puertorriqueño contemporáneo, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Nasty Women, The Knockdown Center, New York, United States
2016
- Interior Interruptions, ABC No Rio at Bullet Space Gallery, New York, United States
2015
- FRESCOS, Galería de la Universidad Sagrado Corazón, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- WOCA Triennial, Walter Otero Contemporary Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Muestra Nacional, Museo Arsenal de la Puntilla Española, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2014
- Universos Paralelos, Hospedería Fonseca, Salamanca, Spain & Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2013
- Standing Outside the Closed Door, ABC No Rio at Bullet Space Gallery, New York, United States
- Impresiones, Relieves y Resonancias, Museo de arte Dr. Pío López Martínez, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus, Cayey, Puerto Rico
- Collect Store Retrieve, ABC No Rio, New York, United States
- Lexus Grant for Artists, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Muestra Nacional, Museo Arsenal de la Puntilla Española, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2012
- Cuarto Oscuro, Foto Visura Pavilion, ArtLab 753, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Her Love Made Visible, Arts East New York, Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Size Matters, Two Moon Art Café, Brooklyn, New York, United States
2011
- FotoMac, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Reynhold Photography Exhibition, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Arte en el medio: 35 años de fotografía en Puerto Rico, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Arte 100 x 35, La Concha Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2010
- Serie Regional de Jugadores Pampers, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Mobile Space: From the Caribbean to the Midwest, University of Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
2009
- Muestra Nacional, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Photographic Experiment 2009, PL 900 Photographic Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Alguien lo tiene que decir, El Local, Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Colectiva FP 09, Decimotercera Jornada de la Primavera Fotográfica, Gauss Research Labs, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Art and Globalization forum by the newspaper Diálogo, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2006
- Trends: Emergent Video Art, Taller Cé, Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2004
- Café Teatro, Nuyorrican Café, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- La No Galería, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
2022
- Artist Residency. Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Art Residency, Governor’s Island, New York, United Stated
2021
- Artist Residency. SOMA Summer Residency, México
- Artist Residency. Junte: Críticas Grupales, Banasta Residencia, Online
2017
- Artist Residency. Jiwar Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
2012
- Grant. Beca Lexus Para Artistas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2011
- Recognition. Municipality of Cayey, Cayey, Puerto Rico
Bibliography
Books
Nogueras, Celina. Frescos: 50 artistas puertorriqueños menores de 35. San Juan, PR: Muuaaa, 2010. p. 350.
Catálogo de la exposición Ïda y vuelta: experiencias de la migración en el arte puertorriqueño contemporáneo”, Museo de Historia Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico (San Juan, PR), 2017. Disponible en: https://issuu.com/museouprrp/docs/2017-02-21_ida_y_vuelta
Newspapers
Larissa Vázquez Zapata, “Ligera de equipaje”, El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR) 2012.
“Let them eat cake” La Polis (San Juan, PR), 2007.
“Con los ojos de Santa Lucía” El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 2006.
Magazines
Jessica Marati, "Five Top Eco-Designers", Organic Spa Magazine (Nueva York, EEUU), 2012.
100 x 35, Caras Magazine (San Juan, PR), 2011.
Web
Vázquez, Daniel. “Puerto Rico ante el lente del cambio,” Visión Doble, February 3, 2020.
Dianne Bras Feliciano. "Reina “Matergrafías” de Mónica Félix, reseña y entrevista", Conboca Newspaper, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2012.
Rodríguez, Nicole. “Meet Monica Felix: the Motherography", ArtSlant. Berlin, 2012.
Kozak Films, “The Two Minute Revue”, Green Hill Camera, Nueva York, Estados Unidos, 2011.
Capó-Ramos, Zuania. “Mucha originalidad entre las nuevas tendencias de fotografía para bodas”, AOL Latino, Nueva York, Estados Unidos, 16 de agosto de 2011.