New York based painter Keelin Montzingo occupies the space between domestic privacy and the vast expanse of the internet. Drawn to the moment where secrecy and exhibitionism merge, Montingzo’s paintings explore the authorship of the gaze and how this has changed within the context of social media.

Using the motif of the silhouette her figures are taken directly from instagram accounts of influencers, models and brands observing how the semiotics of the female pose exist in an echo chamber where the real mirrors the constructed and the constructed seeks the real - in perpetuity. Referencing iconic male 20th Century painters, Montzingo observes how in a world of sousveillance where one has control over their own image, the power used to take ownership of identity also feeds into long established stereotypes. These paintings do not criticize the use of self promotion but question whether the female is collectively perpetuating the male gaze or rather reclaiming the body, defining an empowering narrative where the female speaks directly to the female in celebration of the divine feminine.

In her recent series Montzingo’s abstract backgrounds use a palette evocative of 1960 & 70s design, nostalgic for an era which promised freedom and sensuality. Montzingo builds washes of dreamy soft pastels punctuated by violent swathes of bold color to form a pulsing landscape which embraces and somewhat threatens the figures that exist within. Bodies are presented layered on top of each other, intertwined, dissecting, disrupting, presenting an archetype in flux. The flicker of color echoes the impressionist brushstroke while evoking the feeling created by the screen and overexposure to its flickering light.

From a young age Montzingo was fascinated by anatomy and dissection wanting to understand the structure of bodies. Growing up in a house filled with medical instruments and anatomy books her relationship to her own body morphed from one of scientific intrigue to intuitive connection. This shift exists within her work, her figures maintain a language of precision yet refuse to be more than symbols, the same woman repeated again and again to speak of many.

Montzingo studied Communications at the University of Massachusetts and Modern and Contemporary Art at Christies. In 2017 she returned to painting propelled by her insight in art history and commercial markets which gave a contradictory and fascinating perspective of her subject matter. Recent exhibitions include ‘Creatures’ at Olsen Gruin, 2019 and ‘Shifting Skins’ at Leonard Tourne, 2018.