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{{Short description|Indian textile artist (born 1938)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Monika Correa
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1938}}
| birth_place = [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]]
| occupation = [[Textile design|Textile artist]]
| known_for = Experimental weaves
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Charles Correa]]|1961|2015|end=died}}
| children = 2
| website = {{URL|monikacorrea.com}}
}}
'''Monika Correa''' ([[née]] '''Sequeira'''; born 1938) is an Indian textile artist known for her experimental weaves.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-10-26 |title=10 Textile Artists You Should Know |url=https://indiaartfair.in/10-textile-artists-you-should-know |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=India Art Fair}}</ref> She is largely a self-taught weaver which has allowed her to break free from the inhibitions of an academically trained artist and explore the possibility of textile as a medium of art.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Ghose |first=Anindita |date=2020-01-31 |title=Monika Correa: An artist at the loom |url=https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/monika-correa-an-artist-at-the-loom-11580474838165.html |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=mint |language=en}}</ref>

Her textile creations are a part of leading collections at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monika Correa {{!}} Met |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?q=Monika+Correa |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref> [[Museum of Modern Art]] (MoMA), New York;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monika Correa {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/artists/69493 |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}}</ref> [[Minneapolis Institute of Art]], Minneapolis<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bethlehem, Monika Correa ^ Minneapolis Institute of Art |url=http://collections.artsmia.org/art/136192/bethlehem-monika-correa |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=collections.artsmia.org}}</ref> and [[Tate]], London<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tate |title=Monika Correa born 1938 |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/monika-correa-29086 |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=Tate |language=en-GB}}</ref> to name a few.

== Biography ==
Monika has completed her [[Bachelor of Science|B.Sc.]] in [[Microbiology]] from [[St. Xavier's College, Mumbai]] in 1958.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Frieze London 2019 |url=https://jhavericontemporary.com/art-fairs/frieze-london-2019 |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=jhavericontemporary.com}}</ref> Later, she married the notable Indian architect [[Charles Correa]] in 1961. They had two children, Nakul and Nondita.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-06-19 |title=Charles Correa obituary |url=http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jun/19/charles-correa |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

In 1962, Monika had accompanied her husband when he was called to teach at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT). En route this trip, they traveled via [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]] where she saw the traditional [[Rya (rug)|Rya]] & [[Ryijy]] rugs and was thoroughly impressed by them.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2021-04-02 |title=The Looming Legacy |url=https://openthemagazine.com/art-culture/the-looming-legacy/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=Open The Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=read |first=Deepika Sorabjee·In-DepthInterviews··6 min |date=2020-07-23 |title=Beautiful tapestry of a life well spent |url=http://designyatra.com/beautiful-tapestry-of-a-life-well-spent/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=Designyatra |language=en-US}}</ref> This sparked Correa's interest and motivated her to learn weaving. Subsequently, in America, she got a chance to meet [[Marianne Strengell]] through [[György Kepes]], a painter and professor at MIT.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Jain |first=Priyansha |title=Loom of Life, Texture of Time |url=http://www.artindiamag.com/wp-content/themes/art-india/archives-files/2019/Vol-23-Issue-3/Vol-23-Issue-3.html |journal=Art India |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=50–53}}</ref> Former had then retired as the head of the textiles department from the [[Cranbrook Academy of Art]]. Strengell taught Correa the fundamentals of weaving and gave her a design of the loom when the latter was returning to India.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |author=Reema Gehi|date=3 February 2019 |title=Threads of life |url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/threads-of-life/articleshow/67813407.cms |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=Mumbai Mirror |language=en}}</ref>

== Career ==
After Correa returned to India in 1963, she got the loom built for herself according to the design shared by Strengell. She had also told Correa about [[Nelly Sethna]], her former student who also lived in Bombay. Sethna had sent a young weaver to accommodate Correa with the basic setup.<ref name=":4" />

=== Weavers’ Service Center ===
Correa trained for three months between 1964 and 1965 at the Weavers’ Service Center (WSC) in Mumbai.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Approaching Abstraction |url=https://jhavericontemporary.com/exhibitions/approaching-abstraction |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=jhavericontemporary.com}}</ref> It was a research institute headed by [[Pupul Jayakar]]<ref name=":1" /> and funded by the [[Government of India]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Lego - Monika Correa {{!}} Met |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/778992 |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref> At the WSC, Correa met Indian modern artists like [[K. G. Subramanyan]] and [[Prabhakar Barwe]].<ref name=":0" /> At that time, Subramanyan was working on fibre sculptures made of wool which had a deep influence on Correa.<ref name=":5" />

=== Commissions ===
Initially, Correa began making [[dhurrie]]s (floor carpets) which had simple forms of stripes and solid surfaces. However, not impressed by the idea of people walking on the dhurries, she decided to turn her handlooms into a canvas. She gradually moved to create vertical, wall mounted works which made the process of weaving itself visible.<ref name=":8" />

Correa's breakthrough moment came about when she was asked by [[Pilloo Pochkhanawala]] to create weaves for Bombay Arts Festival in 1966. Alongside K. G. Subramanyan and Nelly Sethna, Correa created two pieces for the festival – one of which was the work titled 'Original Sin', for which she had used hand-spun wool.<ref name=":6" />

Following the recognition received at this event, bulk of Correa's work came about as exclusive commissions. Some of her creations include weaves for [[Philip Johnson]]’s [[The Four Seasons Restaurant]] at the [[Seagram Building]] in New York and The Constitutional Court of South Africa in [[Johannesburg]] among others.<ref name=":7" />

=== Experimentation ===
The innovative aspect of Correa's work has been her re-structuring of the [[Reed (weaving)|reed]] used for weaving. With the help of a carpenter, she cut off the top of the reed which consisted of iron filings stuck with tar. This allowed her to screw it on the wooden rack of the loom. Being able to unscrew at her will meant that she was able to release the reed according to her requirement. This enabled her to collect the wefts and then, by shifting the reed she could displace them slightly, thus allowing a sense of movement within the weave.<ref name=":3" /> Correa has applied this technique to her tapestries which make her experimental weaves quite unique and fascinating.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

== Notable works ==

* Original Sin (1966, 1972)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tate |title=‘Original Sin’, Monika Correa, 1972 |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/correa-original-sin-t15353 |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=Tate |language=en-GB}}</ref>
* Banyan Tree (1984)
* Axis Mundi (1997–99)<ref name=":5" />

== Exhibitions ==

=== Solo exhibitions ===

* 2019 - ''Woven'' at [[Frieze Art Fair|Frieze]] London, Jhaveri Contemporary<ref name=":2" />
* 2014 - ''Echoes in Fiber: The Textile Art of Monika Correa'', Pucker Gallery, Boston<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-06-03 |title=A Boston Summer Design Calendar |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/property/2014/06/03/go-read-summer-design-fix/ |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=Boston Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2013 - ''Meandering Warps'', Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meandering Warps {{!}} 24 January - 23 February 2013 |url=https://www.gallerychemould.com/exhibitions/47-meandering-warps-monika-correa/ |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=Chemould Prescott Road |language=en}}</ref>

=== Group exhibitions ===

* 2019 - ''Taking a Thread for a Walk'', Museum of Modern Art, New York<ref>{{Cite web |title=Taking a Thread for a Walk {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5101 |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}}</ref>
* 2016 - ''Rewind'', [[Dhaka Art Summit]], Dhaka<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rewind |url=https://www.dhakaartsummit.org/rewind |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=Dhaka Art Summit |language=en-US |archive-date=26 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726031402/https://www.dhakaartsummit.org/rewind |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 2015 - ''Approaching Abstraction'', Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai<ref name=":7" />

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160319233248/http://www.monikacorrea.com/ Official website]}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cCsMpG9wNk Interview] with [[Tate]] on [[YouTube]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Correa, Monika}}
[[Category:Artists from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:Women artists from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:20th-century women textile artists]]
[[Category:20th-century textile artists]]
[[Category:Indian weavers]]

Monika Correa - Revision history

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