EMMA VAN LEEST
Emma’s intricate and visually complex works – which, at first sight dazzle and mesmerise by virtue of their extraordinary technical skill, draw the viewer into the artist’s complex, imaginative universe: a rich amalgam of images which are borrowed from a host of disparate sources – orientalism, the lives of saints, folk art, Hindu literature and the fairytale world of the Brothers Grimm.
On completing her honours year in Fine Arts at Melbourne’s RMIT, Emma travelled to Indonesia to study Balinese and Javanese folk art. In Bantul, central Java, she studied the ancient art of shadow puppetry with Sagio, a master puppeteer:
“It was amazing to work with someone who was able to enter into a realm of spirituality and folk lore. The Balinese have a unique approach to religion and daily life - a virtual world of Gods, morals and worship that is incorporated into daily life and domestic routines.”
Later, as the recipient of an Australia Council Emerging Artist’s Travel Grant, she visited China to study traditional Chinese paper cutting techniques, but became more engaged, both visually and conceptually, with the imagery of ancient gardens, houses, funerary objects and tombs which she encountered there. In particular, she was fascinated with miniature dioramas of people and landscapes and the spatial considerations involved with their construction.
Such encounters, together with Emma’s original childhood experience of creating dreamlike fantasy worlds, have resulted in a remarkable body of work.
John Buckley
Excerpt from the essay for the exhibition Wayfaring, 2007
Emma Van Leest Selected Works
EMMA VAN LEEST - CURRICULUM VITAE
1978 Born in Melbourne
Currently lives and works in Melbourne
2000 Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) (Honours), RMIT University, Melbourne
1999 Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) RMIT University, Melbourne
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010 Recent Works Edwina Corlette, Brisbane
2010 Perpetua John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne
2009 Before the first rain, John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne
2007 Wayfaring, John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne
2006 A homage to a private place, First Draft Inc, Sydney
2006 A barn for a goddess and other tales, West Space, Melbourne
2005 The things you do for love, Bus Gallery, Melbourne
2005 December Saints, Seventh Gallery Inc, Melbourne
2004 Recent works, Little Salon, Fitzroy
2004 Recent works, Body, St Kilda East
2003 Recent works, Body, St Kilda East
2003 144 grids (a piece of ivory), Red Gallery, North Fitzroy
2003 Untitled installation, Early Space, Fitzroy
2003 Untitled installation, Experimental Art Space, Melbourne University Student Union, Melbourne
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2009 Small works Christmas show, Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
2009 The Stan and Maureen Duke Gold Coast Art Prize, Gold Coast Arts Centre, Gold Coast
2009 Studio show, Kings Artist Run Initiative, Melbourne
2009 Melbourne Winter show, Despard Gallery, Hobart
2008 New Victorians, University of Sydney Art Gallery, Sydney
2008 Paper-cut, 24HRArt Northern Territory Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin
2008 The Summer Exhibition, John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne
2007 To Be Confirmed ..., Art, Design and Craft Biennial 2007, QUT Art Museum, Queensland
2007 Royal Rumble 2, Kings Artist Run Initiative, Melbourne
2006 Christmas Collectors Exhibition, John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne
2006 ABN AMRO Emerging Artist Prize, ABN AMRO, Melbourne
2006 Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Yarra Sculpture Gallery, Melbourne
2006 Lexicon (curator: Martina Copley), Exhibition Space at Melbourne City Library, Melbourne
2006 Selekta 2006, West Space, Melbourne
2006 Snapshot: Inaugural Exhibition, John Buckley Fine Art, Richmond
2006 Postscript (curator: Simon Gregg), RMIT Project Space, Carlton
2005 It's all about us (curator: Geneine Honey), Arts Victoria, Southbank
2004 Exploration 5 (curator: Claire Harris), Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2004 Explorations in paper (collaboration with Claire Best), Level 11 Gallery, Melbourne
2003 Leisureland (curator: Jenni Port), Red Gallery, North Fitzroy
2003 Open studio events (June and December), The Blender Studios, Melbourne
2001 Emerging artists program, Bulle Galleries, Melbourne
2000 RMIT painting honours graduate show, Span Galleries, Melbourne
1999 RMIT painting graduate show, RMIT University, Melbourne
COLLECTIONS
Ballarat Gallery of Art
Price Waterhouse Coopers
Private collections in Australia, United States, Indonesia and New Zealand
GRANTS & COMMISSIONS
2008 Sanksriti Kendra, New Delhi, India
2007 Wintergarden installation, Federation Square, Melbourne
2007 Skills and Arts Development, Australia Council
2007 Australia Cultural Fund
2005 New work, Australia Council
2003 Melbourne University Student Union
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Art Nation ABC TV
Illustration: Play Victionary Workshop , Hong Kong 2010
Miguel Canseco, Arquitectura de lo ligero, Siglo Nuevo (Mexico), 2009
Lee Tran Lam, The incredible paper art of Emma van Leest, Inside Out Blog, 2009
Ramona Barry and Rebecca Jobson, We make stuff, Melbourne, 2009
Jemima Kemp, New Victorians, Celebrations of the grotesque; the new sublime in Australian contemporary practice, Eyeline No 68, 2009
Perfect Paper, Page One Publishing, Singapore, 2009
I T Post, Australia, October 2008
Vogue Living Australia November 2007, Bright young things
Simon Gregg, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Eyeline: Contemporary Visual Arts, No. 63, Winter, 2007, pg.70
Megan Backhouse, The Age, Saturday 20 January 2007, In galleries, it's show time
Simon Gregg, In Trouble, December 2006/January 2007, Melburnin'
Morrow, Christine, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, catalogue essay, August, 2006
Pamela Mei-Leng See, Craft Australia website, July 2006, Cutting in: Comparing Sino-Australian paper-cutting practice
Freya Lombardo, Monument, Issue 68 2005, Hot Young Designers 2005
Simon Gregg, Artlink, Volume 25 No 3 2005, December Saints