Red Bed and Cream are Virginia Leonard's first foray into the outside elements. Virginia states, "As the work gets larger and the construction becomes more important I find it is essential to retain the gestural nature within the work. Therefore the glaze, lustre and the resin becomes more loose and painterly. I am trying to create work that has the looseness of painting with the formality of ceramics. I intended the lustres, the gold and the silver to create tension in the work with the unexpected nature of these materials out in the bush".
Leonard's evocative ceramics are honest self-portraits that address her experiences of chronic pain and bodily scarring. Leonard is interested in pushing the clay and glazes beyond their limits to within an inch of cracking, splitting or just about to collapse under its own weight. Recent exhibitions include Installation Contemporary, Sydney Contemporary 2017, and Virginia was the invited artist in Residence, Guldagergaard, Denmark 2017. Leonard is concurrently exhibiting in Pulse Miami this weekend with Mindy Solomon Gallery and in February 2018 she will be creating a large scale installation at Artgeneve. As she is exhibiting internationally, Brick Bay Sculpture Trail is humbled to be the only venue that has her work available for viewing and immediate acquisition in the wider Auckland isthmus.
