[piano intro] - Hello, I'm Nido Qubein.

Welcome to "Side by Side".

Today we'll visit with an international contemporary artist inspired by the colors of the Venetian Renaissance and her experiences in Italy.

Our guest is also the founder of the John William Gallery.

There, she champions underrepresented voices and she does an amazing job building the world of arts.

Today we'll meet Monique Rollins.

- [Announcer 1] Funding for "Side by Side" with Nido Qubein is made possible by: - [Announcer 2] Coca-Cola Consolidated is honored to make and serve 300 brands and flavors, locally.

Thanks to our teammates.

We are Coca-Cola Consolidated.

Your local bottler.

- [Announcer] The Budd Group has been serving the southeast for over 60 years.

Specializing in janitorial, landscape, and facility solutions, our trusted staff delivers exceptional customer satisfaction.

Comprehensive facility support with the Budd Group.

- [Announcer 4] Truist.

We are here to help people, communities, and businesses thrive in North Carolina and beyond.

The commitment of our teammates makes the difference every day.

Truist.

Leaders in banking.

Unwavering in care.

[bright music] - Monique, welcome to "Side by Side".

You have done an amazing job in your life ever since you had those teachers, Terry and Jody, who encouraged you to build your skill and talent in the world of art.

When did that happen?

Was it in elementary school or high school?

- Well, I was very lucky to have two wonderful high school art teacher mentors, Jody and Terry.

And during my academic journey through undergraduate and graduate, often the principles that I reflect on and while I'm in my studio today come from the things that particularly Terry had taught me in terms of painting and drawing and composition.

And what was remarkable about both of them was that art was their life.

They taught and then they worked in their studio.

And they taught and they worked in their studio.

And that was a magical example for me to see as a young person.

- Isn't it wonderful to have mentors who plant seeds of greatness in your life?

And then later, many years later, you go, "Those two really impacted my life."

- Oh yes.

Oh yes.

- You went to Syracuse undergrad, and then you went to the Pratt Institute.

It's hard to get into the Pratt Institute.

- Well, Pratt Institute was such a pleasure for me, because at that point I was able to study contemporary painting.

And also do a degree in art history.

- [Nido] Yes.

- So that was all my passion.

That time felt like five minutes.

It was so magical.

- Wow.

You are the founder of the John William Gallery.

And it's named John William because your dad's first name and middle name is John and William.

And so you want to honor your dad and his memory.

How old were you and what made you think of that?

- Well, Dr. Qubein, that's an interesting question, 'cause I would have been in the beginning of my thirties.

Or maybe a little bit later.

And I was a studio artist, which meant I was making paintings and drawings.

And I was looking for galleries to represent my work, to give me exhibitions, promote my work within their collectors' circle, and to start growing the collector base.

And so, as I was on that journey, I met multiple galleries, and I felt like there's a lot of artists and few galleries.

So that gave the gallerist the permission to be very abusive to the artists.

- They neglected their participation.

- Do it like this or I'll get someone else.

- I see.

You don't like that contract, I got 20 other people in line.

- And that's why you call them underrepresented artists?

- No, no.

That's a different idea.

But what started the gallery was I was bringing my artwork.

You can have an exhibition, but you have to pay shipping.

You can have an exhibition, but, oh no, we have to split the funding for the catalog.

You can have the exhibition, but you have to bring the work.

At some point I thought, I'm doing all this work, I'm going to do it for myself.

And my roster is going to be these amazing artists that are my peers I've known for 30 years.

- [Nido] I see.

- So from there, that's when the commercial gallery began.

And from there, we had a space in Wynwood, in Miami.

And then with COVID, we closed that and we opened in Wilmington, Delaware, in my hometown.

- Where you grew up.

You grew up in Wilmington, Delaware.

- And then we also do multiple fairs in the US.

And then the most magical thing that we do is our collaboration with the University of Delaware, with their graduate students that are studying museum studies.

And they collaborate with the Delaware Art Museum curatorial department.

And they create exhibitions in our space.

- And so when I walk into the John William Gallery, what do I see?

I see the work of many artists.

- No.

You will see select... You will see an exhibition space that will have one curatorial theme.

And that exhibition will be one artist.

Right now, we have a group show up.

But it will be from the intellectual property of the graduate student at University of Delaware, choosing artists in the community that are historically underrepresented, working alongside professional curators at the Delaware Art Museum.

And those fellows will create the concept and the curation of a museum quality exhibition.

- But I would go there because I want to buy art.

- [Monique] Sure, it's available for sale.

- That's why people go there.

- So you could go there because you enjoy art.

You want to have relevant dialogue right now.

And then you could be a collector, you could be an art lover.

You could be an art student or just a young person that wants to experience contemporary art.

- What makes a piece of art really special?

- I would say when I'm in my studio creating my paintings, it's really a creative spirit journey.

And sometimes there's moments when the artwork just takes on its own personality.

It's something that maybe you've wanted to communicate for years, and then finally, it comes out as clear as a bell.

And that's what makes artworks, those that are so distinctly successful is they communicate something in a very open, pure way.

- But if I go into a gallery, I want to buy a piece of art.

How would I know that this piece of art...?

Besides just beauty, let's say I connect to it, I find it beautiful.

Love the colors, love the scenery in this piece of art.

Assuming it is a scene somewhere.

But how would I know that this is an authentic piece of art?

How would I know this is a valuable piece of art?

I struggle to know why is this worth $5,000 and this is worth $50,000?

Assuming the artist is not, you know, one is not much more famous than the other.

- I think you would have to find a trusted person that would guide you through that labyrinth of decorative art and art that has more meaning, art that's relevant in our time period.

Because maybe the art for you at the time, you're not interested in it.

But when it came out, it rocked the world because it was very different and innovative at the time than what was already happening.

So I think the amount of research and understanding of the art world and trends.

I think that's why people go to a gallery to buy work or go to a trusted art consultant, because they want the 20 years expertise of someone that's researching in the field.

So I don't think it's like... For me, my first instinct would be, oh, you just know.

Well, I just know.

So I think it's important to find someone like myself or other people that are in art and have a lot of exposure to it to guide you through that process.

- And you've been exhibiting internationally for, what, a decade or more?

- 20 years.

Yes.

- [Nido] Two decades.

- As I grew up in New York at Pratt Institute, we're coming in a time of kind of the history of Abstract Expressionism movement.

So the paintings are abstract.

And then in the periods where I've been able to spend time in Italy, I've studied the painters in Venice during the Renaissance period of 1500-1600.

And it's a lot of beautiful high color.

A lot of color.

A lot of figures in the composition and just genius in painting historically.

So I've been able to experience both of those kind of art traditions, and then hopefully find a way to make it my own or use that language to say what I would like to say.

- Why do certain art collectors collect the works of a same artist?

I know people who say, "I like this person, this artist.

I have 20, 30, 40, 50 pieces that this person has created."

Is it because it has economic value, or is it just because it's genuine, authentic love for that person's work?

- Well, I think it can be a mix of both.

But I think like, why do you buy the music album, and then the next album, and the next album, and the next by the same artist?

I think there's a certain level of enchantment that happens.

- Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

What would you say to a young person who has artistic leaning?

Maybe not ability yet, but they have an artistic leaning, they're interested.

You would advise them to do what?

- I would advise them to create as much work as possible.

Because as they're working in the studio, as they're developing their artistic voice, that's what has to be the focus.

Once you kind of start focusing on the business end of packaging and selling, packaging and selling, I think for young artists, the energy's better spent on content.

And then after you can package your content.

You don't want to cut the content development part 'cause you're desperate to be in the marketplace.

I think you have to develop your content and your voice, your own individual voice.

- How do you create your works?

Do you get up in the morning and say, "I'm going to be in the studio from eight o'clock till four o'clock"?

Do you just do it on the whim of, I feel now like going to do this?

How do you discipline your productivity?

And, perhaps, how many pieces do you create in a year?

I don't know how to quantify the question.

I know some who are sort of commercial artists who are constantly creating, constantly producing.

And I know some who just create very few pieces in a year.

- So I think depending on what is happening in my life.

You have to kind of go with the flow.

So I always go to the studio and do a certain amount of hours in a day.

I think something that really pumped up the volume and velocity of inspiration was having children.

Because you have these wonderful children and they need a lot of time.

So the time that I have for myself is the time when you have to be ready to go.

And it changed from before I had kids, where I could have hours of being in the studio and maybe not being productive, or just kind of hanging out in there and then the productive time would start to roll.

Whereas I feel like with kids that I was so grateful for the studio time, 'cause you get a call, someone's sick.

You have to pick them up from school.

That like the time can evaporate.

So that really made the studio time a high productive all the time.

You're there, you're working.

You're there, you're working.

- Well, walk me through the process of how you create a piece of art.

Do you have something in your mind, and then you go and on a palette you begin to do it?

Or do you take a pencil and draw something, like a fabric designer might do and then do something with it?

Do you just go in and look at...?

What do you call it?

Palette?

What do you call...?

- [Monique] The canvases.

- The canvas.

You look at the canvas.

And you say, "Hmm, let me see.

What do I feel like?

What do I want to do now?"

I'm not sure.

For example, I'm trying to take the analogy of art to something I'm familiar with like creating a speech or writing a book.

If someone said to me, "How do you write a book?"

I would know the process of what you do first, what you do second, et cetera.

How does an artist do that?

- So again, I think the artist process is very unique depending on the different artists and the materials that they use and their way of working.

Because my particular way, I don't have an image in my mind.

- [Nido] You don't?

- No, not at all.

- You just walk in and- - Yes.

Yes.

And I never work on one canvas at the same time.

- [Nido] Oh, really?

- So I have like a space where I'm working on maybe five or six paintings, three drawings.

I have this space around and I have a palette on wheels, and I am working on ideas.

And then when I'm at a point where I am unsure how to proceed, then maybe that's the time to work on drawings for a while to freshen my eyes and my mind.

- What inspires your art?

Is it something you see somewhere?

Is it something you experience or just something that comes out of your psyche?

- Well, I think it could come from my psyche.

It could come from the beyond through me.

I think it depends.

A lot of my artwork is kind of a walk between the outer landscape of my experiences in my life and then also my interior landscape, my imagination, my spirit.

What that kind of creative thing is that comes and takes a canvas from nothingness to having a distinct statement.

- And what are the components that make for a great piece of art?

Is it color?

Is it shape?

I'm not an artist and I want to understand what is it that goes through you when you do that?

You have all the colors in front of you, for example, or do you go get the colors as you need them?

- So I would mix.

I love color.

And so if you see my artwork, you'd see that it's very colorful.

And I would mix my palette ahead with a lot, like five different types of blues, five different types of reds.

But I also think for me, what makes a successful painting is if you were to look at the painting as a symphony and the color maybe as like the string section.

And then maybe the space is the percussion section.

And then maybe the line and so on and so forth until the symphony has all the right sounds at the right moment to say what you want to say.

So I think that's how you would determine, once you see or hear the song, then at that point you know if you're as clear as a bell or if some areas are murky and they're not quite clear yet.

So I think that's how.

- And if you and I were to walk in a gallery that has a number of your paintings.

And I look at your painting and I make a comment about it.

At what point do I see in that painting what you saw in the painting?

Or do you even care about that?

You are okay with me seeing whatever it is I see.

I might just say, "I love the colors in that painting."

Or I might say, "That fits perfectly in my living room."

Does that hurt your feelings that someone did not see the essence of that painting, where it came from?

- No, because some people do see the essence right away.

They walk in front of it, they get it.

Some people are bringing their own thoughts and spirituality to the work of what they're interacting with.

So I think like that's the beauty of art.

It lends itself to so many experiences, feelings, interpretations.

I think that's its beauty.

And just like music, some people are going to like some genres, some people aren't.

You can't please everybody.

I think my biggest challenge isn't worrying about if you like the artwork or these other people like the artwork, or the curators from the museum like the artwork.

I think my biggest challenge is am I communicating what I have inside of me in the clearest way possible?

- But you want to balance that off with economic reality?

Right?

- No.

No economic reality.

- No economic reality?

- None.

- You don't look at the art and say, "That would sell, that wouldn't sell"?

- No.

No.

- [Nido] You just do it because it comes out of you.

- Yes.

Yes.

- And so therefore, do you have art that nobody ever bought?

- Sure.

Lots of it.

- [Nido] And what do you do with that art?

- You keep it.

You keep it.

And then like maybe 10 years later, a curator walks in, goes crazy for it, and it's in a museum in Turin.

- I see.

- So I think the thing that attracts people isn't my painting to make you like me.

It's my unique voice in it is what I see really transmits value to people.

- [Nido] Hmm.

- I've had paintings that are extremely successful.

And then collectors have come and said, "I want one of those.

Can you do it like that, can you do it like that?"

I've always been fired.

Because the time you have the non-artist telling the artist how to be the artist, it's not art anymore.

- Mm.

I'd be the kind of guy who might say, "Can you add a little more red over there and put the blue on this side instead of that side?"

You'd fire me immediately.

- Yeah, you'd be fired.

- You'd say, "I don't need you buying my art."

- You'd be fired.

- So Monique... - [laughs] I'm just kidding.

- Do you name every piece of your art?

- Yes.

- And why does an artist name it?

- Not all the time.

I mean, you see a lot of untitled paintings.

But I think some paintings are referencing a moment or an experience, and so I think that's where it would find its name.

But then some paintings, maybe at the time you've made this statement, but you don't even really know what you did yet.

You need to fast-forward six months and look back at the artwork and the series that you made, or fast-forward two years and look back to really understand what you were talking about.

- But assuming the buyer is not a museum, nobody shows the name of the art.

- Well, you know- - If someone buys a piece of art to put in their home, they don't put a name on it.

- Well, you know what?

They don't put a name on it, but they know the title and it resonates with them.

- [Nido] I see.

- I've had experiences where people have come and seen my work.

They really love it.

And then they ask what the title is and I say the title, and for some reason it touches on whatever they're going through in their life at the time.

So it just resonates.

So again, that's another part of the elusive spirit journey.

- I love art.

I appreciate art.

I don't know that I understand it thoughtfully and thoroughly.

So my measurement of art would be if I like the piece, if I just like what it looks like versus, you know, what Monique went through to create that piece.

Wouldn't it be interesting to know?

I have talked to art collectors who say, "It was very important that I interview the artist, and I wanted to know what caused this."

And they'll go on to tell you the whole story of what the artist was feeling.

What were they thinking, why they created this piece.

Why they called it that.

And they're proud of it and they'll explain that to their friends.

Which makes it uniquely precious instead of just something that looks really pretty out there.

We jokingly, perhaps painfully so, refer to the starving artist.

- Aagh.

That exists.

[Monique laughs] That exists.

There's times when you're in the red, sometimes when you're not.

It's an art job, so it's not guaranteed.

But I think that forces artists to be particularly resilient and particularly able to have different projects going and have different activities going.

And whether it's a job teaching and then in the summers you're free to do your studio work, or whether, you know, it's a shuffle, a hustle to be able to have that time.

- When you are in Europe and touring some touristic places, you see a lot of artists.

Some of them are magical.

And they're sitting there doing whatever they do.

And not all of them are young.

I mean, I understand a student doing that to sell something and pay tuition.

But some of them are older, more mature people.

Is that appreciated art in the world of art?

Or is that sort of a remedial, pedestrian commercialization of art that would have minimal value?

- Well, so, first and foremost, I would never degrade someone's experience with art, whatever they're doing.

That's between them and their God or their universe or whatever.

- You respect all art.

- Well, I respect the time and energy they're putting into it.

But on that, that's one side of the coin.

Another side of the coin is, and I think we would look at what someone made that's unique and individual.

Because if you have a unique artwork and then a person's copying it a thousand times over.

It's the copy of the copy of the copy of the copy.

At some point, does the value of the original go out of it?

- Of course.

Typically, what, you create a piece of art and then you make a limited edition, right, or not?

- I personally do not.

- You just have... - Paintings and drawings.

- Singular piece, that's it.

- [Monique] And collages.

- There's no other like it.

- There isn't, but artists do do print editions, silk screening editions, and maybe one of 10 or one of 40.

So that just depends on the artist practice.

- They make postcards, and then they make books.

And they make... - Yeah.

Depending on their... Because it's so much space to be whatever kind of artist you want to be.

Whatever resonates with you.

My thing is whatever you care about.

Because even I've never made a postcard before, but if I cared about it and loved it.

I have gotten fabulous postcards from my artist friends that have put so much love and attention that the postcards should be framed.

- Yeah.

Very interesting.

Well, you've done a lot in your life, clearly.

And you had great mentors.

And you had the human and perhaps financial resources to do what you've done very well in different places, including founding a gallery to help so many underrepresented artists, which is noble to say the least.

What lies ahead for you, Monique?

- It's a wide open page.

- [Nido] It is?

- Thank God.

- It's just like a canvas?

- An open canvas.

- You take the tomorrows of your life as they come?

- Every tomorrow is a gift.

- And you have faith and courage that tomorrow's going to be a lovely day?

- I do, I do.

And I always have faith in the creative process.

- In a sense that's artistic in and of itself, to see life as unfolding, serendipitous series.

- [Monique] Wide open.

Wide open.

- That's great.

Thank you for being with me on "Side by Side".

And next time I'm in Florence, I'll come look at your artwork there.

- [Monique] Thank you.

- [Announcer 1] Funding for "Side by Side" with Nido Qubein is made possible by: - [Announcer 2] Coca-Cola Consolidated is honored to make and serve 300 brands and flavors, locally.

Thanks to our teammates.

We are Coca-Cola Consolidated.

Your local bottler.

- [Announcer] The Budd Group has been serving the southeast for over 60 years.

Specializing in janitorial, landscape, and facility solutions, our trusted staff delivers exceptional customer satisfaction.

Comprehensive facility support with the Budd Group.

- [Announcer 4] Truist.

We are here to help people, communities, and businesses thrive in North Carolina and beyond.

The commitment of our teammates makes the difference every day.

Truist.

Leaders in banking.

Unwavering in care.