Monica Gilles-BringsYellow is a self-taught Indigenous artist who was born, raised, and continues to live in Montana. In Monica’s paintings she draws on her background to tell the stories of Indigenous women and the landscapes they come from. With an exciting, unique blend of figure drawing and abstract painting, employing a number of techniques and materials—inks, gold leaf, resin and more—Monica uses her art practice to express her cultural and historical connections. The result is a potent visual history of people and places. She hopes her art provides Indigenous representation and tells the stories of Native American women’s resilience and brilliance. Monica's paintings have been the subject of numerous group and solo exhibitions in venues throughout Montana and the West, including the C.M. Russell Art Auction, The Missoula Art Museum, The Brinton Museum (Big Horn, WY), the Emerson Center for Arts and Culture (Bozeman, MT) and several traffic signal box murals in Missoula. This year Monica completed a mural with the Northside/Westside Community Art and Improvement Project, and was the featured artist for the Glacier Symphony for the 2023-2025 seasons. Monica was also a semifinalist in the 2025 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition for the National Portrait Gallery in the Smithsonian. In addition to being an artist, Monica works as a therapist for children.