THIS EXHIBITION EXPLORES THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING IN A SPACE, WHETHER IN NATURE OR A CITY, AND FEELING WONDER AND AWE; OF BEING IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME; OF LISTENING TO THE WHISPERS THAT URGE US TO BE BOLD, TO SEE MORE CLEARLY, AND TO TAKE ACTION. IN AN INCREASINGLY CONTENTIOUS WORLD, WE CAN STILL HOLD TO THOSE MOMENTS THAT WIPE OUT THE DISTRACTION AND THE NOISE, TO SEE AND TO HEAR MORE CLEARLY THE MAGIC THAT AWAITS US.
THIS WORK PULLS FROM RECENT BODIES OF WORK, INSPIRED BY DIFFERENT LANDSCAPES, THAT APPROACH THESE IDEAS, THE AMERICAN WEST, THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO, ROME, AND FRANCE. EACH HELD A SIGNIFICANT MOMENT FOR ME WHETHER DIRECTLY OR THROUGH THE WRITINGS OF A FRIEND. THE PLACE SET UP THE ENTRY POINT AND ALONG WITH WRITINGS AND POETRY, I CRAFTED AN EQUIVALENT TO THE SENSATIONS OF BEING THERE. NO EXPERIENCE IS ONE-DIMENSIONAL AND SO THROUGH THE USE OF MIXED MEDIA; PAINTING, DRAWING, PRINTMAKING, SEWING, AND GLUING, I CREATED PHYSICAL LAYERS TO TRY TO GET AT THE COMPLEXITY AND TRANSFORMATIVE NATURE OF BEING HUMAN, IN THIS WORLD, AT THIS TIME.
- JACKIE LEISHMAN
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Leishman grew up in Georgia, moving to the Los Angeles area after completing her MFA from the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Originally trained as a photographer, she now works as a mixed media painter. Using both traditional and non-traditional materials, including fragments of old projects, Leishman explores the dichotomies she witnesses. Select solo and group presentations include Ahmad Shariff Gallery, Claremont, Meyer Gallery, Park City, Claremont Museum of Art, Susan Elay Fine Art, New York, Granary Art Center, UT among others.
Leishman’s work has been featured in Feel Free magazine, Penumbra, Flyway, Whitefish Review, VoyageLA, Artemis Journal, and others. She has been awarded grants and residencies including the Anderson Center, and Prairieside Outpost. Her work is beloved by collectors, art advisors, and designers. She recently completed a large commission for Stream Realty for their Regions Plaza commercial building in Atlanta, GA, designed by Gensler. She collaborates with evolutionary biologist Steven Peck on bodies of work investigating the loss we will continue to experience with climate change. Their work has been featured in multiple publications and their entire first body of work was bought by a major University library for their permanent collection.
"My work is an evolving exploration of paradox and possibility, inspired by nature, rooted in mixed media, where I find a rich "in-between space" that allows me to probe the boundaries between the seen and unseen, the tangible and the experienced. This way of working was born from my time as a photographer. The heart of the work is based in photography, even though no photographs remain. With photography what one chooses NOT put in is as important as what is put in. What’s left out is still pressing in. It isn’t seen but felt.
Working with thread, paint, ink, paper, and found materials, I create pieces that exist at the intersection of various disciplines. I begin with familiar forms—still life, landscape, or figure –as points of departure. Just as I did with photography, I see what already exists in the world, and in my studio, then choose what to leave out and what to leave in. I seek for my work to always has something tangible, some element or idea I can really fight and wrestle with. Playing with how far it can go, and it still has the thing that centers it, even if it wants to be pushed off into something else. I love the fragility of it almost tipping but holding firm. It is both/and.
My work reflects a world view where everything can be many things at once. By remixing elements at what feels like an atomic level, I aim to reveal the multifaceted nature of reality. Each piece serves as an invitation to expand one's perspective, to embrace uncertainty, and to envision what our world could become.
Ultimately, my art is an optimistic endeavor—a testament to the malleability of our perceptions and the potential for transformation. Through my work, I hope to spark a sense of wonder and expansiveness, offering new ways of seeing, feeling, and understanding our complex reality."
