Monica Zani | Contemporary Artist: Artworks & Biography

Monica Zani was born in Faenza in the northeast of Italy in 1965. Exhibiting a certain artistic talent, she was awarded the ""Master of Art"" from the Ballardini Art Institute at only 18 years of age. Sensing a promising destiny, she began studying at the International School of Design in Modena where she obtained a degree in graphic design. It was impossible for Monica to paint on a blank canvas. Attracted by the charm of the old, she used pages of old books as a background, and offered a second life to old photographic plates. The artist uses elements that already have an aesthetic and a past, and gives them a whole new dimension. She then integrates them harmoniously with her own collages and drawings, painting in gouache or acrylic, ink and adding fabrics to tell a story. In this way, Monica immerses us in a fantastic universe in which man is staged in all kinds of settings and unrealistic situations. According to her, humans have the capacity to get in touch with all life that exists in their environment. The depiction that the artist makes of space is therefore meant to question and change the perspective of these relations. In her paintings, man is often linked to animals by fine lines or cords. Thus Monica materializes these links and his duty to protect nature. Concerned about the fate of the planet and a Buddhist, it is important for the artist to educate the viewer about the relationship between beings. Much like Nicheren Daishonin, she is convinced that ""if the minds of living beings are impure, their land is impure, but if their minds are pure, then the land will be as well."" The human faces in her works can then take on the identity of each of us. A freelance illustrator for over 20 years, Monica lives between Rome and her workshop in Faenza, where she has worked with various advertising and communication agencies. Her work has been rewarded many times, especially in the field of publishing. Today the artist is working on a new project: writing and illustrating a story depicting a child’s pursuit of happiness.