Installation

Bee Life (or Queen for a Day)

Like a Moth to a Flame and Moth Drawings

The Combustibility of Hay

Archived Work

Sphericity

Tidal

Furl

Whirlybird

Trap

Contact Information

813 South Mildred Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
tel: 215-629-2810
e-mail:
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

Artist Statement

My work can be categorized as installation, while still including aspects of painting and sculpture. I am much more interested in making “places” than isolated objects and prefer to work with a specific site in mind. The particular characteristics of the site will necessarily affect the completed installation.

I work primarily with cheesecloth that I coat with rabbit skin glue and pigment. The resulting material can be translucent, so light becomes an important element. Everything is sewn together by hand. This refers to the history of women’s handwork- from darning, quilt-making and hooked rugs to needlework samplers and silk embroidery.

I began working with fabric initially because of the many associations it has. It protects, shelters, conceals, decorates, disguises, etc., and is associated with women and their work. (Femaleness with all of its purported attributes- nurturing, yes, but also restraining, entangling, perhaps even smothering.)

Education

1986
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
MFA, Sculpture

1980
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
BFA, Printmaking

Honors and Awards

1988
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship

Theatre Set Design and Construction

2004
Chrysalis, multi-media performance, Meetinghouse Theatre at the CEC, Philadelphia, PA

1990
DanceFusion, Philadelphia, PA

1989
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

1984
Chapel Gallery, West Newton, MA

1982
Providence Public Theatre, Providence, RI

Trinity Conservatory, Providence, RI

Flat Branch Theatre Company, Providence, RI

Selected Exhibitions

Solo

2011
Leah Reynolds: Bee Life, Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA

2010
Like A Moth to a Flame, The Hall, InLiquid at the Crane Arts Building, Philadelphia, PA

2009
Sphericity, Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA

2007
Furl, Philadelphia International Airport, Terminal A-West, Philadelphia, PA

55 Mercer Gallery, New York, NY

2005
Reading Art Works, Reading, PA

55 Mercer Gallery, New York, NY

2002
The Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE

2000
Outdoor Installation, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Philadelphia, PA

1995
Window on Broad, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

1993
University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA

Fleisher Challenge, Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA

1991
West Chester University, West Chester, PA

1984
Chapel Gallery, West Newton, MA

1983
Outdoor Installation, Rhode Island State Arts Council, Providence, RI

1982
Outdoor Installation, Brown University, Providence, RI

Outdoor Installation, Lincoln Woods Park, Lincoln, RI

1981
Outdoor Installation, Providence Public Library, Providence, RI

1980
School One Gallery, Providence, RI

Outdoor Installation, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI

Group

2010
GROUND PLAY: Nexus at The Schuylkill Center, The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Philadelphia, PA

2008
J. Makary, Leah Reynolds, and Blaine Siegel: New Members Exhibition, Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA

2003
Repetition: Day After Day, InLiquid at the Bride, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA

2000
Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

1999
Focus on Fibers, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA

1998
20 x 12: A Generation of Challenge Artists, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA

1997
The Nature of Form, Borowsky Gallery/ Gershman Y, Philadelphia, PA

1996
Defining the Edge, The Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA

1992
Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA

1991
Port of History Museum, Philadelphia, PA

1990
Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

1989
Levy Gallery, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA

1988
Momenta Art Alternatives, Philadelphia, PA

1987
Momenta Art Alternatives, Philadelphia, PA

1983
Gallery Naga, Boston, MA