Leah Guadagnoli

Leah Guadagnoli

Leah Guadagnoli’s work breaks the format of the traditional picture plane not only in its objecthood but also with its irregular shapes, plushness and depth. It is unique in its close relationship to the methods and aesthetic of furniture-making; her sizeable wall pieces are padded in foam and wrapped in fabric before being tucked together like couch cushions. She is strongly influenced by communal spaces, social engineering and an anti-aesthetic that includes "patterns and replicated surfaces that recollect the gaudy carpet, seating and walls often found in waiting rooms, airports, hallways and coach buses. People often ask to touch the paintings or just rub their hands against the surface without any permission."

Leah Guadagnoli lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received her MFA in Visual Art from Rutgers University in 2014 and her BFA in Painting and Art History from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2014. She has had solo and two person exhibitions at 247365 (New York, NY) and Sadie Halie Projects (Minneapolis, MN), and most recently at Terrault (Baltimore, MD) with Alex Ebstein. Her work been included in group exhibitions at White Columns (New York, NY), Harper’s Books (East Hampton, NY), Asya Geisberg (New York NY), Cuevas Tillard (New York, NY), Ortega y Gasset (Brooklyn, NY), Deli Gallery (Brooklyn, NY) and Library Street Collective (Los Angeles, CA), among others. Guadagnoli has received support from Yaddo, The Lighthouse Works, Vermont Studio Center, The Wassaic Artist Residency, Tilleard Projects in Lamu, Kenya, and The Ora Lerman Charitable Trust. Her work has been reviewed in New American Paintings, Art F City, Hyperallergic, Maake Magazine, and Bmore Art. She is the founder of the Maple Terrrace Residency Program in Brooklyn, NY.

B. 1989 in Chicago, IL, lives & works in Brooklyn, NY.