My practice consists of researching into my familial identity through images, objects, and stories.  As I have gotten older and come into my identity, I have begun to appreciate my multicultural background more. I want to fully understand the lives of my grandparents and the rich cultures they come from.  With the passing of three of the four of my grandparents, my work deals primarily with grief and longing, the collection of memory, and memorialization. I find their essence in old family photos, objects they have given me, and the stories my parents tell me of their childhoods. It is the amalgamation of these that I build my images through layers of washes and fragmented surfaces. Painting has become a tool to get to know someone intimately. With the case of my grandparents, I am completing my story by learning theirs.

Recently I have been focusing on the importance an object can hold. I have been holding on to items that my grandparents have given to me with a new purpose of their connection to the spiritual world. Having these items in my spaces creates a direct line to invite them into my world and remind me of their presence. It has been through the discovery of the areal view that has shown me a new perspective, how late loved ones can still share experiences from above. This series combines my exploration of my late grandparents and inviting them into a new chapter of my life where they get to know me as I grow and the people and things I choose to bring in these spaces.

— Isabel Monti