Matador, 2003

Monica Denevan  

Monica Denevan is a San Francisco-based artist whose photographs blur the distinction between cultural documentation and artistic portraiture. They begin with a personal connection made while traveling through Burma and China and evolve from the people and their immediate environment. The individuals live in remote regions far from the changes wrought by industrial development, with a traditional culture that remains linked to the past and the intangible spirit of their homeland. The images transcend the subjects themselves to acknowledge their particpation in a world of extraordinary resonance and harmony.

"Introspective and meditative, Denevan’s camera captures lives that have struck a delicate, often bittersweet balance. Full of visual vitality and natural symbolism, their spirit is a reflection of centuries of unchanging habits. Standing before us, each of these individuals manages to yield to the camera a quiet yet heroic presence. Her subjects, intimately connected to the man-made possessions that surround them, are caught in a transient moment, unfettered by what has passed and what is yet to come."

Denevan has been exhibited across the US and in Hong Kong and Cambodia. She was a winner of the 2008 International Photography exhibition award at the Center of Fine Art Photography in Colorado.