Meet Monica Bergquist

Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Bergquist.

Hi Monica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m back to painting after spending a couple of decades focused on a science-related career and raising a family. I earned my undergraduate degree in Fine Arts, concentrating in painting and drawing, but later transitioned to science for graduate school, largely because I was guided towards a “real” career with financial stability.

After my Mom passed away from cancer, I realized I needed to return to painting for my own well-being and to show my children the importance of following one’s North Star. Creating art has always been a way for me to process the world, and stepping back into the studio has felt like reconnecting with a part of myself that’s been dormant. It’s a way to rejoin life.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road through life is rarely smooth. As my youngest child entered kindergarten, I envisioned finally devoting myself fully to my art practice. But life has a way of rewriting our plans, and unforeseen circumstances have left me with far less time than I had hoped.

Whether caring for young children or aging parents, it isn’t always easy to prioritize your own aspirations. I’ve learned to give myself grace, accept the season I’m in, and make the most of the time I have. Every hour in the studio is meaningful, and I create as consistently as life allows. In fact, I believe it makes my creative time more productive.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My practice centers on duality as both a lived and material experience. I explore the relationship between structure and spontaneity, science and intuition, responsibility and creative instinct. Rather than viewing opposites as conflict, I understand them as interdependent forces that generate energy, tension, and meaning.

I am interested in the balance between emotional expression and analytical understanding. Without the framework of observation, inquiry, and structure found in science, abstract art can become purely emotional rather than a deeper exploration of experience. Science provides a way to understand systems and patterns, while art creates space for intuition, ambiguity, happenstance, and human connection. Together, they allow for a more complete way of seeing.

In the studio, I pour, disrupt, carve, and layer materials, allowing organic processes to unfold before reintroducing order through lines, grids, and compositional structure. These actions mirror my own negotiation between control and surrender, as well as the tension of open space and development. I guide the work while remaining open to its shifts, accidents, and discoveries.

My paintings inhabit the space between opposing forces, where strength coexists with vulnerability, chaos with clarity, and discipline with play. Through this process, I continually reconcile the analytical and the instinctive, creating a visual language rooted in balance, tension, and transformation.

What does success mean to you?
Tough question!

I believe that when you are following the work your soul is meant to pursue in this lifetime, the path begins to reveal itself. Doors open, connections appear, and the gaps are filled in ways you could not have anticipated.

I define success as an artist by the ability to remain engaged in meaningful exploration and to follow a path that feels authentic. If my children can see me pursuing curiosity through both art and science, and understand that a life of questioning, discovery, and creativity is valuable, then I consider that success.

I hope that my work teaches them to remain open, to explore deeply, and to find their own ways of connecting intuition with understanding. Success is not only what I create, but the example I create through the process of living and making.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.monicabergquistart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbergquistart/

Image Credits
Personal photo taken by Justine Jane Photography. All the rest are by me, Monica Bergquist