Monica Ikegwu (b.1998, Maryland)
Education
(2020 - 2022) New York Academy of Art. MFA. Painting
(2016 - 2020) Maryland Institute College of Art. BFA. Painting
Solo Exhibitions
2024
Extensions, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD, Curator Dr. Myrtis Bedolla
2023
Duo, Band of Vices, Los Angeles, CA, Curator Terrell Tilford
2019
We’ve Always Been Here, Band of Vices Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California, Curator Terrell Tilford
Two Person Exhibitions
2021
GAZE, Band of Vices Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Co Exhibited with Thomas Mitchell, Curator Terrell Tilford
2018
Sunflower Seeds, Ida B's Table, Baltimore, MD, Co Exhibited with Katelyn Brown, Curator Sharayna Christmas
Group Exhibitions
2023-25
The Culture: Hip Hop & Contemporary Art in the 21st Century, Traveling exhibition, Curators Asma Naeem, Gamynne Guillotte, Hannah Klemm, and Andréa Purnell
- Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
- Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MI
- Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
- Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
- Art Gallery of Ontario, Ontario, Canada
2024
EXPO Chicago, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL, Curator Dr. Myrtis Bedolla
2023-25
The Bennett Prize Finalist Exhibition, Traveling exhibition
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Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
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Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY
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Customs House: Museum & Cultural Center, Clarksville, TN
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Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh, PA
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Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus State University,
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Columbus, GA
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Studio Incamminati, Philadelphia, PA
2023
There Within Lies the Gospel Truth, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD, Curator Myrtis Bedolla
Rising Voices 3 - The Bennett Prize, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
You’ve Got a Friend, Rhimes Performing Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA
Harlem Fine Arts Show, New York, NY
2022-23
The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined, Traveling Exhibition, Curator Myrtis Bedolla
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59th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
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The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African- American History & Culture, Baltimore, MD
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The James E. Lewis Museum of Art (JELMA), Baltimore, MD
2022-23
The Radical Voice of Blackness Speaks of Resistance and Joy, The
Banneker-Douglass Museum, Annapolis, MD, Curator Dr. Myrtis Bedolla
2022
Context Art Miami, Art Basel, Miami, FL, Curator Dr. Myrtis Bedolla
The Beautiful and the Dammed, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD, Curator Dr. Myrtis Bedolla
To Each, Her Own, Urban Zen, New York, NY, Curator Mashonda Tifrere
Black Creativity, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL
2021
LED Baltimore Billboard Spotlight, Baltimore, MD
Literary Muse, UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles, CA, Curator Dr. Myrtis Bedolla
Truth About Me, Urban Zen, New York, NY, Curator Mashonda Tifrere
Parallels and Peripheries, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY, Curator Larry Ossei-Mensah and Assistant Curator Robyn Gibson
2020
Noir, Noir: Meditations in African Cinema and its influence on
Visual Art, Prizm Art Fair, Virtual, Curators William Cordova and Mikhaile Solomon
Bethesda Painting Awards Exhibition, Bethesda, MD
In the Hallway, Alternate ROOTS, Virtual Exhibition
Thesis Exhibition, Maryland Institute College of Art, Virtual
Masterpiece, Band of Vices Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Curator Melvin A. Marshall
Renaissance: Noir, UTA Artist Space, Beverly Hills, CA, Curator Myrtis Bedolla
Black Voices - Black Microcosm, CFHILL, Stockholm, Sweden, Curator Destinee Ross
2019
We Are One, Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD, Curator Thomas James
Crosscurrents, Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Anima Mundi – Visions, ItsLiquid Group, Venice, Italy, Curator Arch. Luca Curci
B_19, Baltimore City Hall, Baltimore, MD
All the Feels, Open Space Gallery, Baltimore, MD
2018
The Full Gamut, Ida B’s Table, Baltimore, MD, Curator Sharayna Christmas
XL Catlin Art Prize, Traveling Exhibition
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Linda Warren Projects Art Gallery, Chicago, IL
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New York Academy of Art, New York, NY
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San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
& Introducing, Band of Vices Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
BPI Gallery, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Baltimore, MD
Reflections of Baltimore: Painting, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Baltimore, MD
Awards
2022 - Bennett Art Prize, Finalist
2022 - Portrait Society of America: Future Generation Competition, Honorable Mention
2020 - Bethesda Painting Awards, Young Artist Award winner
2020 - Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant recipient
2018 - XL Catlin Art Prize 1st place winner
2017 - Young Arts Finalist
2016 - Scholastics Silver Medal Portfolio Winner
2016 - Young Arts Merit Winner
2016 - ACT-SO Gold Medal Winner
2015 - ACT-SO Bronze Medal Winner
Select Collections
Baltimore Museum of Art
The Columbus Museum
Muskegon Museum of Art
Press
CNN, Featured on segment ‘Art if Life’ with Victor Blackwell
The New York Times, How Galleries Off the Beaten Path Are Diversifying L.A.’s Art Scene, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/arts/design/los-angeles-art-galleries.html#after-bottom
The New York Times, Museums Look Locally for Growth and, Sometimes, Survival
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/arts/design/museums-local-growth.html
The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century Catalog, page 138
Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020 - 2021, Pages 130-131
Voyage Baltimore, Rising Stars: Meet Monica Ikegwu
https://voyagebaltimore.com/interview/rising-stars-meet-monica-ikegwu-of-balti
more/
Tomorrow's Talent (Boooooom), Volume II, Pages 82-83
https://www.booooooom.com/2021/04/13/booooooom-shop-tomorrows-talent-book-vol-ii/
New American Paintings, Volume 25, Pages 80-83
https://www.newamericanpaintings.com/issues/148
Bmore Art, Art AND: Monica Ikegwu
https://bmoreart.com/2020/01/art-and-monica-ikegwu.html
Create! Magazine, Issue 14, Pages 152-153, Artist Spotlight
https://ekaterina-popova-wrxh.squarespace.com/read/monica-ikegwu