Monica Mendes was born and raised in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where her passion for the arts started. As a child, she soaked in life-lessons distilled by her role models – her grandmother, mother, and aunt – who were not only art lovers, but also dedicated painters.
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Monica graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations, working in the field for two years before moving to Peru, and later to the United States with her husband and three children. Her years living in Brazil and Peru – two very culturally rich countries – further influenced her artistic perspective.

While living in Miami, she became a professional Personal Trainer for 12 years. Although neither PR or PT was her ultimate passion, both professions gave her valuable insight into peoples’ physical and verbal expressions. This insight ultimately shaped how she saw her surroundings as well as herself, which became the source of her expression as an artist.
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Despite having roots to art in her childhood, it was not until 2006 that Monica endeavored to immerse herself in art, enrolling in an art history program for docent guides at the Lowe Museum at the University of Miami. In 2009, she followed this long-time passion by opening her own art studio. Her commitment drove her to obtain her master’s degree of Fine Arts in painting in 2016 from Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
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Monica develops relevant works in the arts segment, specializing in oil painting in the figurative style. She regularly participates in collective exhibitions, fairs, and art shows around the world– from the US to Japan, London, France, Italy and Brazil. Monica has been awarded for her work in the US by Focus Brazil for 2 consecutive years, and currently has artwork published in 11 global publications. Her latest collection, Out of the Box debuted in 2021 at Wynwood in Miami, FL.