Artist story

Violet Roots is the studio practice of Monika Gholson-Calaceto, an abstract painter based in Jersey City, NJ. Her work explores memory and the tension between intuition and intention through layered acrylic paintings.

Each piece is formed through layers of color, texture, and line, allowing the process to remain visible on the surface. Color carries weight. Texture holds memory. These qualities developed over years of evolving her craft, from pencil and charcoal to acrylic, and they remain at the core of every finished work.

Since early 2026, Monika has been working from her family's photo archive, using memory as both subject and structure. The figures in these paintings are not rendered literally. They are suggested, abstracted, and held loosely so that the viewer can bring their own understanding to who or what they see. The memory behind each piece has a specific origin, rooted in her family's history and in the archive images of an African-American family. These images capture what a photograph alone cannot hold.

Music plays during every studio session and often informs the titles of finished pieces, offering a glimpse into the studio atmosphere rather than a translation of sound into image. The meaning remains intentionally open. The interpretation always belongs to the viewer.

Alongside paintings, Violet Roots extends into digital abstract work, silk scarves, stationery, and functional objects. Each handmade piece is transformed through a painterly perspective, and created with care.

The practice is ongoing, always building.