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Artist Statement:
My creativity is inspired by
the French Salon painters and
how they captured history,
social conscience and
architecture by painting the
people and environments
surrounding them. Using the
term I coined for a new era of
art, called “Constructionism,”
I meld familiar scenes and
transform them into
contemporary masterpieces.
This theory views art as a
construction rather than as a
transmission of artistic
teachings meaning the painter
actively experiences and
expresses themselves through
creative experimentation. The
art begins, transcends and
evolves. The majority of my
work revolves around vignettes
while other pieces focus on
the abstract. Stylistically,
the foundation of all of my
paintings is the use of
intense black lines found most
often in Fauvism. The use of
line and color also flows over
into my work on fiber whether
it is creating a batik,
shibori or hand-painted silk
piece. My work is located in
private collections from New
York and California to
Paris....
Further Information
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Artist Exhibitions:
Spoleto Festival USA, May
2010.
New York One of A Kind,
December 2010.
Chicago One of A Kind,
December 2010....
Further Information
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Artist Galleries:
Columbia Museum of Art
Gift Shop
Corner of Hampton and Main
Streets
Columbia, SC
803-799-2810
Michael Mitchell Gallery
438 King Street
Charleston, SC
843-564-0034 29401
...
Further Information
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Collections:
Coming Soon!
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Commissions:
Coming Soon!
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Reviews for Alicia Leeke:
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Lake Murray Magazine Writes Feature Article on Alicia Leeke
Alicia Leeke is the featured artist for Lake Murray Magazine's July Issue in the Arts Beat Section. Read more about it in on of the the blog sections below.
Leeke Juried into Two Noteworthy Statewide Art Competitions
Alicia was recently juried into two of South Carolina's most prestegious art shows. The first is the Piccolo Spoleto 24th Annual Juried Art Exhibition with the theme of "Vanishing Landscapes,” in Charleston, SC which will be on display May 23 – June 7, 2008. Be sure to look for her piece "Wetlands Landscape" which is also for sale.
Another painting "The Holy City" (featured under the painting section of this website) was juried into the Florence Museum's 30th Annual State Art Competition. The Holy City, which is available for purchase, will be on display through June 15, 2008.
She has also been recognized as an Emerging Artist finalist in Charlotte by Red Sky Gallery, was the Summerville, SC Flowertown Festival Run Art Contest Winner in April 2005 and received Purchase Patron Awards from the South Carolina State Fair in 2007 and 2004 and Second Place in the 2007 SC State Fair for one of her Birds from Bangladesh.
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Go to www.alicialeeke.com/headlinenews for all Releases:
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From Sketches to Scarves Her Art Evolves
EXCERPTS FROM THE STATE NEWSPAPER,
State, The ()
2006-07-01
Section: HOME & STYLE
Edition: FINAL
Page: E3
FROM SKETCHES TO SCARVES, HER ART EVOLVES
DEENA C. BOUKNIGHT, Special to The State
LIKE MANY WITH an artistic bent, Alicia Leeke initially sought a more practical career path. She majored in journalism at USC and worked her way up the corporate ladder in public relations, marketing, book publishing and, finally, outside sales at GBC (General Binding Corp.). However, her interest in art and creative expression is ever-present.
Therefore, little by little, Leeke has been working toward a goal of making a living with her hands. A natural talent, plus classes at the of Art, have allowed her to blossom as an artist.
In her home are walls and walls of post-impressionistic paintings - acrylic cityscapes and expressive people in vibrant colors. Most of her paintings are gentle distortions of linear perspective, but some are abstracts. Leeke is drawn to painting churches, scenes from France, which she has visited three times, and downtown . "I like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's subject matter and Georges Rouault's use of strong black lines, and I like to take mundane, less interesting settings of different parts of and make them more vibrant," Leeke said.
The more she learns and experiments as an artist, the more Leeke is inclined to create a variety of works for display in homes. In fiance Mike Doran's new store on Devine Street, called Fontenay, her monotypes, sketches, paintings and plant prints are displayed among the shop's antiques, reproductions and new furnishings.
After she took a silk painting class from Columbia artist Judy Hubbard, she began making silk scarves, which she has sold to customers who not only want to wear them, but also frame them or drape them over sofas, chairs or even canopy beds.
"I love the fluidness of the dye, the way it flows onto the silk," she said. "It's a different and fun medium." To make the scarves, she first stretches the silk fabrics on wooden frames and then draws on them with a fabric dye before beginning the painting process. She said she often paints and draws after work at her sales job, sometimes until 1 a.m. Some scarves can take a few weeks to months, depending on her free time. The same is true with Leeke's other artistic interests.
Some of her scarf designs are loose and geometric, while others are detailed. One scarf she recently sold featured an elaborate Japanese dinner scene. "Alicia's work just evolves," Doran said.
A painting may lead to a sketch, which may lead to a scarf design, which leads to decorative mouse pads. "My goal is to reach a high level of success with my art," she said.
When she recently won a trip to France from her company, Leeke and her fiance, whose mother is French, sought out the museum of their favorite French artist, Maurice Utrillo, and she studied the brushstrokes and color and light techniques of the masters.
"The brushstrokes and the texture are what I'm most fascinated in no matter what I'm doing," she said. "Painting and drawing is so soothing for me, but it's also challenging.
"I like the statement that (local artist) Guy Lipscomb once made, that painting is nothing but solving problems. I have to agree with that. You have something that's blank and you have to decide what to do with it."
More info: To find out where Leeke's art is displayed or to discuss commission work, email info@alicialeeke.com.
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