NEW YORK, NY.- Marc Straus announces Jose, the fifth solo exhibition of new paintings by German artist Anna Leonhardt. Leonhardt’s latest works reflect her exploration of color, space, and the dynamic interplay between light and form. The title “Jose” emerged from a DADA-inspired “letter lottery” process, underscoring Leonhardt’s engagement with chance, language, and intuition in her studio practice.
Leonhardt’s artistic evolution is marked by a deep inquiry into the essence of painting. Reflecting on her formative years, the artist recalls, “I realized I wanted a better understanding of the process itself and what I actually hoped to find there. The question of figure in space became the center of my research (at that time I was still making figurative paintings).” Her transition from figuration to abstraction was propelled by an exploration of pictorial space and the nuanced relationships of color within the canvas. She explains, “It’s about the space in color and the relations of colors within the four corners. Colors create movement in the painting and our eyes are guided by colors on the surface.”
Leonhardt abstracts and elevates life’s everyday moments through a distinctive palette knife technique – the metallic blur of a passing subway car, a hazy summer sunset, or an illuminated sign that pierces the night sky – all offer inspiration for her buttery gestures and ombré gradations. Multi-layered vertical and horizontal forms, that the artist calls “Raumzeug” or “Space Stuff,” seem to float freely but are in constant interaction, epitomizing Leonhardt’s innate grasp for rhythm and balance.
Anna Leonhardt (b. 1981 Pforzheim, Germany) lives and works in New York, NY and Berlin, Germany. She is represented by MARC STRAUS, New York and Galerie Friese, Berlin, Galerie Zink, Waldkirchen. Leonhardt studied Painting and Graphic Arts at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, Dresden, Germany. Leonhardt’s artwork has recently been featured in solo exhibitions at Galerie Zink, Seubersdorf; Galerie Friese, Berlin; and She Bam! gallery, Leipzig, among others, as well as group exhibitions at KUNSTWERK/Sammlung Klein, Eberdingen; Deutscher Kuenstlerbund, Berlin; and Staedtische Galerie Dresden, Dresden. She is in the permanent collections of Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Kunstsammlung des Sächsischen Landtages, art collection of the Saxon Parliament, and Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden, among others.
An opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 12, 2024 from 5:00 – 8:00 PM. The artist will be present.
