MUNTHE ART MONDAY: LEA MONIGAT

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.

My name is Léa M., I’m a French painter based in Paris and currently an artist-in-residence at 59 Rivoli. Through my work, I seek to reveal the richness and complexity of women’s identities. By layering and overlapping forms, I aim to express the plurality of the emotions that move through them - some parts of my canvases appear more intense, others more delicate, reflecting different levels of sensitivity and emotion.

Nature is also a central element in my art. It intertwines with the human figures, as if the body and the landscape were one. This fusion expresses a deep relationship between humanity and its environment, a symbiosis where boundaries fade to give way to an organic unity. I create worlds where every color becomes an emotion, every composition a narrative, and together they form a unique inner landscape.

Lea is wearing our BARIKA SLIP DRESS.

Can you name some other female (artist) that inspires you and explain why they do so?

My greatest source of inspiration is my paternal grandmother - a strong woman who always taught me the meaning of freedom in all its forms: freedom to think, to act, to play… She was also the one who opened my eyes to art.

My artist friends are also a great source of inspiration through their work and their ideas, like Juliette Denis the photographer who took these photos. Then there’s Niki de Saint Phalle. Her spontaneity and feminist vision are endlessly inspiring to me. I admire her freedom in creation and the way she transforms the female body into a statement of power and liberation. In her approach, there’s both healing and rebellion: she channels her own wounds and the violence inflicted on women into exuberant, joyful figures that overturn traditional roles and assert an unapologetically powerful femininity - something that deeply resonates with me. Finally, Georgia O’Keeffe, for her connection to nature, womanhood, and color. Her deep hues and curved forms - at once gentle and powerful, as if every petal and every contour could tell an intimate story of womanhood - inspire me in my own exploration and expression of emotion. The apparent simplicity of her work hides a profound emotional intensity.

What would you like people to notice in your artwork?

Through my artwork, I wish to offer a sense of peace and contemplation, inviting viewers to reconnect with a presence beyond the self, a quiet inner space where time seems to slow down and the noise of everyday life fades away. In this stillness, I hope they can feel something more vast than their individual stories - a connection to the living world, to their own emotions, to an invisible, subtle energy that surrounds and traverses us.

Could you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?

I come from an environment where women have always played an essential role, yet were expected to remain discreet. Where men were at the center knowing very well; without the support of woman they would collapse. That tension made me realize how complex, multifaceted, and sometimes contradictory womanhood can be. That’s where my artistic approach was born - from a desire to explore this plurality.

As a woman artist, I had to find my place and affirm that creating is an act of freedom - that my perspective and my work deserve to exist and be heard. The journey required time, self-questioning, and a long process of self-acceptance, as well as an internal struggle to overcome guilt. Being a woman artist means knowing the path will be more challenging, but also feeling, deep down, an immense strength that pushes you to keep going despite everything.

Lea is wearing our BLAINE TOP.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being a woman in the arts?

The greatest challenge has been with myself. Breaking out of the shell of the “fragile woman” - both emotional and childlike - that I had been put into, where my words were dismissed or ridiculed, was a long process. Learning to believe in myself, to acknowledge that what I carry within me has value, was a kind of inner revolution. Being a woman with things to say, with a deep need to express herself, can be unsettling for others. So I had to understand, accept, and honor my voice as meaningful and important.

Theatre was the first step: a space where I could build confidence, explore my emotions, and understand how they move through and manifest in my body. Then I turned to painting, which allowed me to express the most intimate parts of myself. On the canvas, I could let emotion and color explode freely - without filter, judgment, or restraint. Painting became a space of complete truth, a place where colors and shapes speak words I cannot say aloud. Of course, the societal gaze on women who take up space and speak out remains a challenge. But I’m convinced that if we believe in ourselves, keep creating, and stand tall in our truth, we can each help, in our own way, to change things.