Lina Monfort

Swedish-born, but raised in the UK, my multicultural background bears a heavy influence on my art, which plays with light and shadow while portraying at the same moment, a wistful sense of the past. I am ever the student of the country of my birth. The bleak melancholy attitude characteristic of my Swedish roots shows itself through my abstract pieces, while the change of seasons, which so dramatically affect the country's spectrum of light and dark, shadow and tone, mood and atmosphere are encapsulated throughout.

From a young age my artistic talent became apparent and was encouraged by my uncle, who was a painter. At school - first Anthorn and then Princess Helena College - i developed my abilities and I took art A-level prematurely at the age of sixteen. This then led naturally towards a textile art degree at the College of Distributive Trades in London from which I graduated in 1989. Following University I continued to work on my art projects but these were sidelined somewhat by the demands of a full-time job. In recent years, however, I moved back to art which I now practice full-time.

I showed my work in an exhibition in Valencia in 2015 with a fellow artist in that artist's residence. My work was highly regarded by viewers, and generated much interest.