Monika Correa trained in microbiology and began weaving in the 1960s after a visit to Finland where she encountered rya rugs. No Moon Tonight (1974) has a plain vertical weave that is similar to earlier tapestries such as Original Sin (1972), in which she worked on large circular forms in abstract compositions that became emblematic of her mature style. The sharpness of the vertical line is broken by meandering patterns that are created by pulling out the reed. Correa speaks extensively about the depiction of nature, especially the sky, in Persian and Central Asian paintings. The title of the work and the circle hint at an abstraction drawn from nature – a moon rising or being eclipsed in an interplay of dark and light, the upper monochromatic panel balanced by the coloured panels in the lower half.
This is the first time the work of Monika Correa is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Latika Gupta
