Monica Marks / Mindful Currents / Cerritos College Art Gallery
- LA Art Documents
- Jul 7
- 2 min read
Monica Rickler Marks
Mindful Currents
Window Dressing Series, Cerritos College Art Gallery, CA
April 6 - April 19, 2025
Monica Rickler Marks’ Window Dressing installation, Mindful Currents, is designed to invoke a sense of calm and wonder in an otherwise chaotic world. Expanded from a previous and much smaller installation of the same name, originally installed in The Closet at Shoebox Projects, Mindful Currents uses abstracted jellyfish sculptures hanging from automated pully mechanisms to transform the entire gallery window into a giant replica of a jellyfish aquarium. Created by combining 3D-printed forms with iridescent umbrellas, the jellyfish-like sculptures will slowly move up and down as if floating in water. Hidden fans within the space will gently sway the creatures’ tendrils, further adding to the sense that they are drifting in liquid currents. Electroluminescent wire, LED light strips, fiber optics, as well as UV-reflective elements that glow in the black lights carefully installed throughout the space complete the surreal and otherworldly effect. With the world in so much turmoil, not to mention the stress of classes, the responsibilities of familial obligations, and the strain of personal anxieties, Mindful Currents provides a brief moment of respite for Cerritos College’s weary students and visitors alike; so sit back, relax, and get lost in its peaceful undulations.
Monica Rickler Marks is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Los Angeles. She earned her BA in Art from California State University, Northridge, and her MA in Marital and Family Therapy at Loyola Marymount University with a specialization in Clinical Art Therapy. Monica’s training and experience in the mental health field influences her work, using her visual art practice to promote emotional growth and healing. Her first solo exhibition, What We Hide: An Exploration of Hidden Disabilities and Identity, was presented at Shoebox Projects in 2021. Monica’s work has been exhibited in numerous group exhibitions, including at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History, the Torrance Art Museum, and the Bristol Art Museum in Rhode Island.
