Charlotte artist’s mixed media work lets her connect with the community over loss

Monique Luck, a contemporary mixed media artist, was able to find common ground with folks in Charlotte while leading community workshops based on her own experience with loss.

Luck’s younger sister died in a car accident in 2011. In the classes Luck led at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation as an artist-in-residence in 2018, people shared anonymous stories about hope, loss and memories. Luck’s “Evocation” series was born out of the strong connection she felt with the community.

“When you look at loss, it’s not necessarily just losing someone,” Luck said. “People are losing their homes. People have lost their jobs. Someone said they lost their youth. It became this really interesting conversation.”

Luck’s exhibit “Into Memory” will showcase 10 works from the “Evocation” series in the Ross Gallery at Central Piedmont Community College’s Central Campus from Jan. 11 through March 11.

A video installation with words from notes she received in these workshops will be part of the exhibition. Guests also will be able to participate in an interactive wall by writing a memory, name or note and attaching it to a magnetic wall within the exhibit.

“This show is a way for me to honor the community and to highlight their story and share their voice,” Luck said. “This is my way of giving back. The stories and the artwork that you’ll see are specifically and directly inspired by their words.”

Making a Charlotte debut

Even as a child growing up in Ohio, Luck was always creating. Her parents supported her interests and gave her time to explore and learn techniques. Luck calls herself a self-taught artist.

In 2006, Luck and a friend were painting murals in day cares and restaurants in Pittsburgh when they were accepted into a mural competition for The Sprout Fund, a community philanthropy group in the city.

“The community chose us to do this,” Luck said. “We ended up learning so much. It helped us connect to the community, and it helped us get started in public art. Once I started doing that, I fell in love with public art.”

When Luck moved to Charlotte in 2010 to be closer to her family, she wasn’t involved in the local art scene. It was her acceptance into ArtPop Street Gallery in 2014 and 2018 that got her name recognized in the community.

She met other artists in Charlotte, and the exposure increased her business.

Luck created a five-piece community driven art project in the Renaissance West community in 2016. Bank of America and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture funded the project. She worked with youth and senior citizens to develop an installation for the roundabout in the area.

More recently, Luck was commissioned by the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator in Miami to create a mural for the Gantt Center.

She and Stephanie Woods were chosen as the local artists to represent Charlotte in this traveling exhibit called “Inter | Sectionality: Diaspora Art from the Creole Center.” “I See Forever” and the rest of the exhibit may be seen through Jan. 18.

“She’s doing identity work,” Rosie Gordon-Wallace, founder and president of the arts incubator, said of Luck. “She’s talking about gender and the role of women. She’s talking about how women turn up or don’t turn up in the conversation.”

Luck’s next project is at the 7-acre Druid Hills Park in North Charlotte. The Arts & Science Council is providing funding for an approximately 9-foot by 30-foot mural on the park’s new pavilion.

She’s worked with the community members through virtual workshops to develop the idea. The collage will be on porcelain tiles.

‘Moving forward’

Acrylic, fabric, found paper, oil and wire are incorporated in Luck’s artwork. The stories and messages from the community are woven into the fabric of each piece. “Ebb and Flow of Light,” one of the works in the “Into Memory” exhibit, has many layers.

“When you see it from a distance, you get a general impact,” she said. “As you get closer, you’re going to find those hidden words, those pieces of the poetry and you’ll get to see the texture.

“I hope with this exhibition people can have these memories and reflect. Then keep moving forward.”

‘Into Memory’

What: “Into Memory” features about 10 works by Monique Luck and an interactive wall.

When: Jan. 11-March 11

Where: Ross Gallery, Central Piedmont Community College, Central Campus, 1201 Elizabeth Ave.

Cost: Free

Details: http://blogs.cpcc.edu/cpccartgalleries/2020/11/19/we-will-see-you-in-the-new-year/

This story is part of an Observer underwriting project with the Thrive Campaign for the Arts, supporting arts journalism in Charlotte.

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This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 5:45 AM.