MUNTHE ART MONDAY: MONICA LOCASCIO

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.

My name is Monica C. LoCascio, I’m a transdisciplinary artist focusing on the materiality of invisible phenomena. My works arrive as artifacts of my material and theoretical research on memory, microbiology, theoretical physics, and hierarchies of knowledge and power.

I’m deeply committed to working with materials that are authentic to the topic of an artwork. For example, I pair bacterial cellulose, salvaged fiber, and heritage craft techniques with industrial and salvaged materials to examine the tension between the fluidity and vulnerability of the lived human experience and the systems and institutions that contrast it.

I began my art-making practice at the age of 5 when I was taught to crochet and embroider by my grandfather's twin sister, and got my MA at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in Art&Science.

Monica is wearing our REMONA top from our PRE-SPRING 2026-collection.

Monica is wearing the REMONA top.

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

Mom-guilt when I’m travelling for an exhibition or residency.

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

My artistic research revolves around philosophical concepts and scientific theories that are connected to feminist and matriarchal studies, history, labor, materials, and methods. Endosymbiotic evolution, for example, is one theory that when opened up even a little, lends itself to questioning hierarchies of power.

On the other hand, I have always felt profoundly connected to the maternal lineages in my family. This has informed my use of craft modalities like crochet and embroidery in a fine art context, and has also inspired some of the more metaphysical elements in my work. Finally, I am a mother, which has completely rearranged my priorities, boundaries, and my schedule in the studio.

What would you like people to notice in your artwork?

I am always delighted and amazed that despite my work being quite abstract, people are able to tap into the more subtle layers of meaning in the research themes and material choices just by spending time with the pieces. My greatest hope is that it opens up questions for the viewers that allow them some personal catharsis or grace in the same way I have found those refuges in the process of making it.

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

I don’t want to pick one. No artist exists in a vacuum and we’re all swimming together in some kind of channeled creative force anyway.

There’s Juliana Sabinson, who has taught me so much and inspires me daily with her bravery and complexity. And then the other artists in my research group - daniela brill estrada, Rychèl Thérin Scott, and Mariella Greil. Together we are researching embodied knowledge practices by focusing on craft modalities. Each of them have a rich and beautiful practice that consistently leaves me inspired and in awe.

And then there are of course artists like Judith Scott, Ruth Asawa, Eva Hesse, Cecilia Vicuña, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Magdalena Abakanowicz, and Simone Leigh - all stars who have inspired me with their forms and materials, originality, dedication to craft, and stamina.

Photographer: Daniel Kalkhofer (instagram: dan_kaho)