Margarita Leon, Ven (2003), wood, eggshell, resin
[Margo Jacobsen Gallery, Portland, OR, Mar 6-29, 2003]
Margarita Leon:
Entre Sueños y Realidades
Margo Jacobsen Gallery
Portland OR Mar 6-29, 2003
Between Dreams and Reality is the English translation for native Venezuelan, Margarita Leon’s upcoming show.
Leon describes her process as an elusive one. Beginning with a feeling, rather than an intended image or plan, Leon begins carving in wood and lets her feeling develop. The material itself as well as the rhythms of her shapes help to determine the form. Primarily based on the figure, the sculptures are an expressive or exaggerated gesture. The pieces are lavishly textured using eggshell mosaics, custom coloured grout, metallic, embossed and painted surfaces. Leon is not concerned with anatomical correctness, rather the figure is a vessel that is used to convey emotion.
These works are innocent, humorous and have a playful energy. Her non-figurative pieces take on lines and movement that dance in whimsy. Beyond the light-hearted appearance, however, the works have a seriousness, a personal language for the artist, and are also meant to inspire individual interpretation.
Leon considers many pieces to be self-portraits in the symbolic sense. There is a narrative embedded in her characters, as if they are puppets from Leon’s inner world. Incorporating leaf and flower forms, as well as references such as a bird, a ladder or house shape. These animated personalities are decorated with the symbols of the stories they tell.
