CONTROL Gallery is presenting the first Los Angeles solo exhibition of artist Jasmine Monsegue. Titled Everything That Glitters, this unique exhibition features a painting titled The Pony, depicting a strip club in Memphis, Tennessee. Monesgue’s image captures the dichotomy of the sex worker industry, merging soft blurred and clearly rendered imagery. As Anora sweeps up at the Academy Awards, winning acclaim for its more nuanced portrayal of the Sex worker industry, Monesgue’s exhibition is timely since it features artworks portraying strong female figures embracing their freedom and celebrating their feminine power.
Everything That Glitters showcases Monsegue’s multi-faceted artistic practice which references her upbringing within the Afro-Caribbean, Latinx and African American culture in the Southern United States. Monsegue also explores existential themes of spirituality and identity, using experimental applications of airbrush which have become her signature as well as unusual materials such as synthetic hair and recycled parts of furniture.
Monsegue’s work is both surreal and spiritual, and through her insightful and sensitive exploration of a contemporary history of southern African-Americans, she seeks to elevate subcultures within the region.
Jasmine Monsegue (b. 1994, Houston, TX) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles, CA. Monsegue’s work explores themes of femininity, identity and pop cultural references. Her practice travels through an array of mediums including airbrush painting, sculpture and furniture design. Her artistic language materializes through the manipulation of digital imagery, a process involving altered photographs and visual imagery from her own digital archive. Jasmine often uses collage and reconfiguration techniques to compose a rough account of the layout before translating it to canvas with airbrush. This procedure allows her to comment on contemporary themes of self-image, social climates and the commodification of beauty. Her paintings evoke a deeper study into what it means to be human, as well as how technology has reshaped our interaction within society and self-image. Monsegue’s paintings can involve a provocative brooding of womanhood and the appropriation of beauty within African-American studies as well as influence of her Afro-Caribbean background. Jasmine Monsegue lives and works in Los Angeles.
Jasmine Monsegue has participated in exhibitions around the world, from Palm Springs to Portland, Seoul to Paris, leading up to her first solo exhibition in Los Angeles.
Culturalee caught up with Monsegue to get some insights into the LA exhibition, find out about her inspirations and views on the contemporary obsession with perfect ideals of beauty and manipulated images.
Jasmine Monsegue Everything That Glitters is at CONTROL Gallery in Los Angeles until 29th March, 2025.
Where did the title Everything That Glitters come from?
I wanted to use the phrase Everything That Glitters Isn’t Gold implying that not everything that seems precious is entirely true. This saying came to mind as I was working on these situations and characters in the paintings.
How does it feel to have your first solo exhibition in Los Angeles?
Great! I learned so much in the process, excited to do more.
You integrate multiple artistic disciplines in your art practice including collage and digital tools. Can you describe your working process and how you use the different mediums in your work?
I like to start with photography and images that inspire me to evoke a feeling into the painting. I go through photos that inspire me and create rough collages of different elements on photoshop. This allows me to have a digital sketch of the composition before I start painting.
How much do you draw on the influence of your multi-cultural background in your art?
I used to want to hide my identity in my work, but as I’ve gotten older the influence of my background became more apparent in my need to create something from the heart. I love making paintings that uplift and inspire as well as manifest a positive outlook for black and brown people. I feel like a lot of institutionally appraised paintings were so rooted in “Black pain”, and I want to curb that with the opposite.
In a society that unashamedly celebrates a beauty standard that is often digitally or physically manipulated, enhanced or filtered, how do you feel the daily bombardment of fake images influences your work?
There is a shift occurring that happens with the polarities of life. I feel this happening specifically with art as well, when things look too edited, perfect, and untouched. This overwhelming obsession with perfectionism is inspiring me to bring in more unpredictability.
Your work The Pony explores the Sex Worker industry through your portrayal of a strip club in Memphis. How important is it for you to translate the idea of women’s choice in an industry that is also known for exploitation, and how do you depict both these themes in your work?
I’m drawn to this story of a female monster/ character seducing their oppressor ever so close enough before taking revenge upon their body and spirit. In this new body of work I wanted my show to be centered around this idea that women can take back control of their potency. It’s not so important for me to speak directly on sex work in these pieces though the imagery is very provocative. It’s more so a chance for all the girls to come together and feel empowered, especially in these often dark and scary places. In the (US) South, Strip Club culture runs so deep. Houston specifically is known for their very flashy, fancy and eccentric adult clubs with only the most famous dancers performing. It can be perceived as exploitative or can be recognized as a wild circus with acrobats hanging from the ceiling.
There is an element of Surrealism in your work. Who would you cite as your artistic influences, or do you find more inspiration in real life experiences than art history?
I love art history and am always wanting to know more about what has already been done. Goya, Carravagio, and Remedios Varo are some of my favorite older inspirations stylistically. I think the most inspiring things though come from life experiences.
You are successfully subverting the male gaze in your imagery, and rejecting outdated voyeuristic notions of male artists’ depictions of women. What would you say is the key message that you want to convey through your art?
I don’t have a specific key message I’m trying to portray in my work. I’m more so trying to communicate a story, a background, and a dream from the perspective of my upbringing in the South.
