In the Studio with Gwyneth Leech
Gwyneth Leech in the Studio. Photo credit Esther Levine
Through her paintings of high rise constructions sites, Gwyneth Leech expresses the optimism and anxiety of a rapidly changing New York cityscape. She has been in solo and group shows throughout the United States and Great Britain, including Susan Teller Gallery in New York City; Studio 50 Gallery in Los Angeles; Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Art in Houston Texas; and Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum, Scotland. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, American Art Collector Magazine, The Village Voice, and City Realty. She is the subject of a multi-award winning short documentary, The Monolith. Recent corporate acquisitions include Brookfield, Cimolai, Despé Italia, Metropolitan Walters, NYC Constructors/Banker Steel, Sciame LLC, SL Green Realty and Stonebridge Inc.
How is self isolation due to the virus affecting your work?
Fortunately, my painting studio is just a few blocks from my house in a building that has remained open. I walk there to work as often as I can, though my time has been limited by the demands of home-schooling my teenage daughter who has special needs. My husband is working at home now which allows us to tag team to keep her education going, with a team of amazing teachers and support staff who dial in remotely, but all this has had an impact on my ability to focus on my own artwork. Another change is at the this time of year I would normally be painting outside. My subject is the dynamism of the city under construction and I like to paint on location where meeting workers and having conversations with passersby is part of my process. Now, with work sites mothballed and their hive of activity stilled, my time in the studio is spent finishing paintings begun outdoors before our lives were upended, as well as sketching out some tentative new directions.
www.gwynethleech.com
www.instagram.com/gwynethleech
Starting the 16th Floor, Morning, February, 2016, Oil on board, 18" x 24"
Cocoon for Façade Replacement, Spring 2019, Oil on wood panel, 22” x 24”
One Vanderbilt Rising, 2019, Oil on canvas, 40" x 40"
The Shed in Construction, August 2018, Acrylic on canvas. 24” x 36”
Skyline from Sheep Meadow, August 2019, Oil on canvas, 15" x 30"
The Monolith, a short documentary about Gwyneth Leech’s construction site paintings
by New York City director, Angelo Guglielmo