Monika Stricker

Monika Stricker’s paintings embody a timeless, classical quality while often exploring themes of transience and ambiguity. Her choice of provocative subjects elicits strong emotional reactions from viewers. By blending traditional aesthetics with modern critical perspectives, Stricker delves into complex topics such as vulnerability, identity, and the dynamics of power. In her earlier series, Stricker’s portrayal of faceless male figures with omitted genitalia challenged conventional patriarchal symbols, highlighting the fragility and constructed nature of identity. Her recent work shifts focus to a range of motifs, including breastfeeding primates, dogs, and fragmented human forms like feet. These elements, deeply intertwined with her personal fears and fascinations, invite reflection on intimacy and the existential human condition, positioning viewers in roles that oscillate between participant and observer. Her art compels audiences to confront uneasy truths about dependence, submission, and exposure. By featuring subjects like nude men, animals, or her own body parts, Stricker strips away societal veneers, leaving behind a raw, disconcerting intimacy that blurs the line between vulnerability and strength​. ...

The name P420 is inspired by Pantone 420, a universally recognized shade of grey known for its ability to serve as the perfect background, enhancing whatever it accompanies. P420 thus emerges as a platform whose primary aim is to embrace and elevate artistic ideas and expressions, fostering their harmonious coexistence within a context that supports, encourages, and celebrates diversity and innovation. Here, every voice can resonate powerfully and distinctly, much like a work of art standing out against the backdrop of Pantone 420. P420 has been instrumental in the rediscovery of artists such as Irma Blank, Laura Grisi, Ana Lupas, and Stephen Rosenthal, collaborating directly with the artists or, when necessary, with their heirs or the Estates representing them. Through exhibitions, off-site projects, fairs, and a strong online presence, the gallery also supports the evolving narratives of contemporary art, initiating and supporting the journey of many young emerging talents like Victor Fotso Nyie, Francis Offman, and Shafei Xia. ...