Monique Rollins

b. 1980, USA

Monique Rollins is an internationally acclaimed contemporary artist whose work is inspired by the rich colors of the Venetian Renaissance and the diverse land and cityscapes of her adoptive Italy. As the founder of John William Gallery and its Emerging Curator Platform, she has developed a ground-breaking partnership with the Delaware Art Museum and the Museum Studies Program at the University of Delaware. This initiative supports students from underrepresented communities in the museum field, highlights the role of curators, and showcases the work of artists from historically marginalized groups in exhibition and collection programs.

Rollins’ creative projects and exhibitions explore the history of femininity through innovative materials, infusing her work with a renewed spiritual curiosity. While her compositions often feature elegant spatial dissections, Rollins applies fabrics and other fibrous materials with the same vigor as paint, reflecting the underlying churning of emotions of daily life and caregiving. Her portfolio includes oil, acrylic, and paper collage paintings on canvas, charcoal drawings, and mixed media. Each piece serves as an uncompromising visual record of her journeys, experiences, and reflections; a creative vision that taps deeply into her primordial self. A master colorist and gesturalist, her drawings and paintings intersect aesthetically, boldly, creating painterly works that offer a profound exploration of the human condition.

Rollins received her BFA from Syracuse University in New York in 2002. In 2006, she earned an MFA in painting, a Master of Science in Theory, Criticism and History of Art degree specializing in Venetian Renaissance, and a Museum Studies Certification from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY.