Anclada en Puerto Madero - Anchored in Puerto Madero
Buenos Aires, Argentina - January 2008
Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monica Schraiber Otero immigrated to the United States with her family at an early age. She has a BA in Art from Rutgers University with a concentration in oil painting.
The artist enjoys being able to communicate fluently in Spanish and English. She converses in French and Italian as well.
Monica has taught Art at elementary school and high school levels for the last 33 years. She also worked as a freelance graphic designer for large corporations in the area. From 2001 to 2023, she was a tenured faculty member at Mother Seton Regional High School in Clark, NJ where she instructed students in 2-D and 3-D Design, Drawing, Painting, Graphic Design and Ceramics. Presently, she teaches Drawing and Acrylic Painting to young children and runs the Summer Art Camp at the Watchung Arts Center. She also is the curator of the Annual Children's Juried Art Exhibition. Monica has been an art instructor and volunteer at the center since 1991.
Mrs. Otero was the high school's coordinator for the Union County Teen Arts Festival and the Student Art Exhibit. As a member of AENJ or Art Educators of NJ, she has attended the Annual Conferences and has participated in programs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has assisted with ProyectArte, a student art exhibition at the Argentinian Consulate in NYC.
As a professional artist, Monica Schraiber Otero has shown her work in many venues throughout NJ and NY including the Palmer Museum, the Watchung Arts Center, the Diversity Gallery, the Union County Arts Center, Kean University, the Union County Freeholders Gallery, Pearl Gallery, the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission Gallery, Les Malamut Gallery, the Piscataway Municipal Gallery, the Princeton Alliance Church, the Monmouth Cultural Center, Swain Gallery, the Barron Arts Center, Gallery Space and the Art Institutes of New York City to name a few.
(please see the Exhibitions page for past and current shows)
Monica is fascinated with the fluidity of India ink reflected in her semi-abstract landscapes, still lifes and portraits for which she has received awards. Her work also includes abstractions based on contemporary issues, natural occurrences and the fantastic which were part of solo shows Status Quo, Abstractions in Ink, Illuminated Journeys and Ink Bleeds, Then and Now: A Ten -Year Retrospective at the Watchung Arts Center. Monica's ideas emerge from her heritage as well as her love for nature and her fine art and graphic design backgrounds.
Mrs. Otero was a member of the New Art Group from 1992-1998. She was active in the Artists Circle from 2003-2005. She joined The Contemporary Art Group in 2006 where she served on the Board of Directors as vice president and member at large. Her travels have taken her to France, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Canada and the continental US including a cross-country trip from NJ to California in 2012.