![Alyssa Monks - Aiden Study [2015]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5645/21642682750_9fc12b91d8_o.png)
In paintings both visceral and lush, Alyssa Monks aims to express the most fundamental experiences of being human, including love, loss, and the search for self. She primarily concentrates on the human figure, portraying herself and acquaintances and loved ones in intimate, large-scale compositions that appear expressively naturalistic. Though she is fascinated by the material qualities of her medium, her practice is not insular; she paints to connect to the world and to others. As she has described: “My intention is to transfer the intimacy and vulnerability of my human experience into paint for someone else to connect to. Paintings are objects you need to be in the same room with to sense the energy in their surfaces. I like mine to be as intimate as possible, the painted surface like a fossil, recording every gesture and decision.”
[Gallery 1261, Denver - Oil on canvas, 25.4 × 25.4 cm]