About the Artist
717 Squared, 2024
Third Story Art, Lancaster, PA
Leah Slemmer is an artist working in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. After completing a series of figurative art, her work has shifted to exploring memory through floral arrangements by painting the same arrangement over a period of time. In May of 2020, Leah received her BFA in painting and minor in art history from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Her work has been included in various exhibitions in Lancaster, PA as well as juried exhibitions at Goggleworks Center for the Arts and Abington Art Center.
I have always been drawn to human interaction and how it relates to time and memory. My work is rooted in these concepts by painting figures and florals that are cropped or distorted to represent the passage of time.
In my figurative work, I look for subtle interactions between the subject and the viewer to create uncomfortable silence. I often explore scenarios from my family’s past, childhood, and present to create a timeline of quiet moments. This exploration has expanded in the depiction of floral arrangements, and the subtle stories that they represent–celebration, condolences, unspoken feelings. I will paint the same arrangement over a period of time to capture the various stages of bloom to decay. Each painting becomes a memory of the bouquet’s past.
I am interested in the fervency to capture time, often painting quickly to emphasize how moments change. I am inspired by the impressionist painters and how each brushstroke articulates movement and light. I strive to bring this energy into each painting to reflect on fleeting memories and our presence in them.