Meet Visiting Artist Jess Leo on December 5

Meet artist Jess Leo on Thursday, December 5 at 11:30 a.m. in Brookdale’s Center for Visual Arts (CVA) Gallery. Leo’s current installation past/presence(s) is running through December 13 in the CVA Gallery.

“By utilizing the drawing medium, I am able to achieve subtle variations of tone,” said Leo. “I work with only an H pencil to gradually build up lines over time. The H pencil contains the tonal range of the drawings, which is representative of a prolonged melancholic state associated with traumatic loss,” she said. Drawing was and remains an important medium for Leo as she explores the themes of grief, trauma and isolation in her works.

Leo, who was born and raised in New Jersey, is a Brooklyn-based artist. In 2016, she won an Emerging Artist Award for her work in a cross-cultural exhibition in New York City. Leo currently teaches college art and design in New York as well as New Jersey.

During the Artist Talk on December 5, Leo will talk about her work and answer questions. Later that evening, from 5-7 p.m., Leo will also be present at the artist’s reception in the CVA Gallery.