LESLIE PONTZ / “Discovery

 For the past twenty years I have had the privilege of watching the work by LESLIE PONTZ develop and mature.  Her deep connection to family is quite evident in her work: nurturing and reflective. Through trial and error, she has found a clear visual voice with process (crochet) and materials (industrial monofilament and natural fibers), manipulating a singular strand of thread, building a structure as if the pieces were actual living organisms.  The work has become more “fragile” and ethereal with time.  Though monofilament is a very strong, man-made material, the forms reference skins, cocoons, pods, life forming, life-fleeting; birth to death.  By suspension, nestling and cradling, each piece exudes a subtle emotional human-like posture.