💛 Simone Leigh⁣

Golden Hour

The textures, colors and variety of materials were the first things that pulled me in. There is so much richness here! The glowing, glazed yellow ceramic torso on the wood grained pedestal, framed against the raffia? Come on! It’s SO good.

Simone Leigh: “Figure (1352-Y)”, 2020 and “Cupboard X”, 2020⁣

I find it beyond cool and interesting that Leigh will often include other architectural elements in her exhibitions to help transform whatever space her art is in. The raffia structure behind me made everything feel a little less like a silent, empty, concrete gallery space. It instead made it feel more welcoming. Leigh was inspired by the traditional Rondavel grass huts in Africa. All these materials are heavily inspired by African art, yet also draw upon global themes and a variety of cultures. I love how her work blends a bunch of different art styles, techniques and materials. ⁣

A key characteristic you’ll notice in Leigh’s ceramic sculptures is the abstraction of shapes and features. She usually doesn’t include eyes on her faces and instead focuses on key elements. Leigh said: “When I first started making this, I was trying to abstract the face entirely. Gradually, I wanted some African features, to be a little bit more specific.” I’ve seen so many pics of her artwork, so it was just magical to finally see it in person✨ ⁣
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