Monica Kim Garza’s vibrant paintings of women of color reject the dominant white male gaze. Altogether, they reflect an unfettered utopia of female leisure and joy. Garza renders her (mostly nude) subjects with expressionistic brushwork and a smattering of tonal hues, situating them within bright backgrounds that reflect both real locations and atmospheric states. Throughout her oeuvre, women booze, recline, lift weights, and play ping-pong. Garza received her BFA in painting and drawing from California College of the Arts and has since exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, and Basel. She has also made ceramics and produced a number of collaborations, from skate decks for the brand 5BORO to pins that she created with singer Angélica Rahe.