Leigh Anne Lester American, b. 1966

Biography

Leigh Anne Lester received her BFA in Painting from the University of Texas in San Antonio in 1993. 

 

Leigh Anne Lester’s work addresses the “place between the genesis of genetic modification and its aftereffects.” Her drawings are layers of semi-transparent drafting film with a historical botanical image drawn on each layer. The transparency of the drafting film allows the line of each botanical to optically blend with the next layer. Elements of each of the plants mix and tangle their visual attributes intermingling disparate species of flora. Floating cells are layered with graphite drawings of separate distorted offspring plants with their color drained, implying a cellular, morphological struggle for resolution.

 

Lester’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States. Her solo exhibitions include Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX; Artpace, San Antonio, TX; Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio, TX; Blue Star Contemporary Museum, San Antonio, TX; Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, TX; and the International Museum of Surgical Science, Chicago, IL. She is the recipient of prestigious awards including the 2011 Hunting Prize and the Artist Foundation of San Antonio in 2007. In 2015, she participated in the Berlin Residency Program by Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum in partnership with Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany. Lester’s artworks are in the permanent collections of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, McNay Art Museum and the University of Texas at San Antonio, among other institutions. 

 

VIEW ARTWORKS ON ARTSY

Works
  • Adjacent Impression 1.4
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Adjacent Impression 1.4, 2024
    Hand cut drafting film, color pencils, graphite, acrylic paint, plexiglass, wood, shadow
    84 x 48 x 5 in
    213.4 x 121.9 x 12.7 cm
    (approximate dimensions)
  • Dismantled and Rebuilt #1
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Dismantled and Rebuilt #1, 2024
    Watercolor on yupo, wood, acrylic paint, shadow
    21 x 16 x 2 in
    53.3 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm
  • Dismantled and Rebuilt #2
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Dismantled and Rebuilt #2, 2024
    Watercolor on yupo, wood, acrylic paint, shadow
    19 x 17 x 2 in
    48.3 x 43.2 x 5.1 cm
  • Dismantled and Rebuilt #3
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Dismantled and Rebuilt #3, 2024
    Watercolor on yupo, wood, acrylic paint, shadow
    21 x 18.5 x 2 in
    53.3 x 47 x 5.1 cm
  • Dismantled and Rebuilt #4
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Dismantled and Rebuilt #4, 2024
    Watercolor on yupo, wood, acrylic paint, shadow
    17 x 16 x 2 in
    43.2 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm
  • Dismantled and Rebuilt #5
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Dismantled and Rebuilt #5, 2024
    Watercolor on yupo, wood, acrylic paint, shadow
    17 x 23 x 2 in
    43.2 x 58.4 x 5.1 cm
  • Dismantled and Rebuilt #6
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Dismantled and Rebuilt #6, 2024
    Watercolor on yupo, wood, acrylic paint, shadow
    18 x 14 x 2 in
    45.7 x 35.6 x 5.1 cm
  • Dismantled and Rebuilt #7
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Dismantled and Rebuilt #7, 2024
    Watercolor on yupo, wood, acrylic paint, shadow
    23 x 17 x 2 in
    58.4 x 43.2 x 5.1 cm
  • Proclamation of Nature
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Proclamation of Nature, 2024
    Watercolor on yupo, watercolor on paper, wood, acrylic paint, shadow
    83 x 76.5 x 4 in
    210.8 x 194.3 x 10.2 cm
  • Blind Diversification #1
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Blind Diversification #1, 2020
    Graphite on paper, acrylic paint on drafting film and acrylic paint on linen tape
    16.3 x 16.3 in
    41.4 x 41.4 cm
  • Blind Diversification #2
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Blind Diversification #2, 2020
    Graphite on paper, acrylic paint on drafting film and acrylic paint on linen tape
    16.3 x 16.3 in
    41.4 x 41.4 cm
  • Adjacent Impression 1.1
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Adjacent Impression 1.1, 2019
    Hand cut drafting film, graphite, color pencil, acrylic paint, wood, plexi-glass, magnets
    26 x 43 x 7"
    66 x 109.2 x 17.7 cm
    (dimensions variable)
  • cellsmakeshadows #14
    Leigh Anne Lester
    cellsmakeshadows #14, 2016
    Plexi-glass on wood, enamel spray paint
    16 x 18.5 x 4"
    40.6 x 46.9 x 10.1 cm
  • cellsmakeshadows #17
    Leigh Anne Lester
    cellsmakeshadows #17, 2016
    Plexi-glass on wood, enamel spray paint
    12 x 12 x 3"
    30.4 x 30.4 x 7.6 cm
  • cellsmakeshadows #3
    Leigh Anne Lester
    cellsmakeshadows #3, 2016
    Plexi-glass on wood, enamel spray paint
    13.5 x 9.5 x 2"
    34.2 x 24.1 x 5 cm
  • Flexible Foundation 1.2
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Flexible Foundation 1.2, 2016
    Hand cut drafting film, color pencil, wood, acrylic paint, map flags
    66 x 63 x 37"
    167.6 x 160 x 93.9 cm
  • Splice Sidle
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Splice Sidle, 2015
    Color pencil, hand cut drafting film, acrylic paint
    10 x 10"
    25.4 x 25.4 cm
  • Splice Sidle 1
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Splice Sidle 1, 2015
    Color pencil, hand cut drafting film, acrylic paint
    10.75 x 10.75 in
    27.3 x 27.3 cm
  • Splice Sidle 8
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Splice Sidle 8, 2015
    Colored pencil, hand cut drafting film, acrylic
    10.75 x 10.75 in
    27.3 x 27.3 cm
  • Marker 1.9
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Marker 1.9, 2014
    Graphite and color pencil on drafting film
    7 x 5"
    17.7 x 12.7 cm
  • Oblique Inception
    Leigh Anne Lester
    Oblique Inception, 2014
    Graphite and color pencil on drafting film
    25 x 23 x 3 in
    63.5 x 58.5 cm
Press
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