Beacon Gallery's Blog

by Chenoa Baker

Exchange is “an act of giving one thing and receiving another (especially of the same type or value) in return” for the goal of reciprocity, multi-sided conversation, central place for cross-pollination in the [arts] ecosystem. This editorial series translates a think tank of art and people into writing about artists, activists, and artpreneurs we encounter.

Anya Leveille: Art That Moves The Heart

Anya Leveille, an artist represented by Beacon Gallery, breathes life into the arts through bold color, abstracted scenes inspired by our natural environment. She makes evocative abstracts made from oil, cold wax, and digital media. Talismanist Giebra, a philosopher of Fragmentism writes, “Life is an abstract art, and it’s up to you to make sense of it.” The form of the artwork reveals deeper sensations about life. This quote bears to mind the differences between rendering which is a visual translation of what is seen and an artist’s interpretation. A translation relies only on the visual sense and is often too exacting to represent the abstract realities of our world today. However, an artist’s interpretation unlocks visual language yet to be found and transcends what is seen to move the heart. This is precisely what Leveille does within her work.

“Leveille has been one of Beacon Gallery’s best-selling artists, with many patrons immediately drawn to the bright colors of her cold wax abstractions. Her work helps to embody a Beacon Gallery core value: “art is for everyone.” Between her visual allure, and her variety of sizes available to all budgets, Leveille’s work has caught the eye of both first-time and seasoned collectors,” says Christine O’Donnell, Founder and Director of Beacon Gallery.

Abstraction Is A Feeling

Associate Curator, Chenoa Baker is drawn to this work because of the interplay of colors, the accumulation of layers and texture, and the repetition that creates a jazzy rhythm. In the house she grew up in, there was a print that depicted African dancers that were lined up in a row and there was only a white background to focus on their movement.

Anya Leveille’s work has the same sensibility because it is as she describes it, “energy, light, life. Movement and gestural marks fill the abstract forms of the dancers, surrounded by the warmth of the sun.” The palpable texture is achieved through  “using crushed shells, multimedia and sand with vibrant colours are reminiscent of layered and patterned fabric swirling around joyful figures.” Lastly, its feature of being “built up over time, creates a rich narrative of mark making, sculpture tools are used to rediscover the history in an almost archeological style.”

Forest Curtain transports the viewer and sets the scene: “Mist gathers slowly at the edge of the forest, cool and green. The staggering magnitude of the inner forest, ancient trees towering overhead, all around, sticks and leaves crunching beneath your feet. Through the mist you can see the great expanse, all around, softly veiled.” This meditative work is an invitation to “take a moment, feel the coolness of it against your skin, and breathe in. Delicate veils of color are created using a variety of thin layering techniques using transparent papers pressed onto canvas in various transfer presses.”

“The salt spray on your skin, the wildness of the scenery and sound of the waves now forever a part of you,” Leveille says. Notice how there is an interplay of colors within the blue and the horizontal movement that is suggestive of wind. This is a unique take on landscapes by abstracting them, condenses them down to their feeling and essence. A variety of tools make the “delicate and firm gestures.” This form of “liberated mark making, combined with sweeps of textured paint, invoke wild and untamed expression.”

Learn more about Anya Leveille’s work at Beacon Gallery.

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About the Artist

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