Profile
Selected works
Art faculty
 
Jeff James Leake
Adjunct Faculty
270 781 4373
jeffrey.leake@wku.edu
Ivan Wllson Center for Fine Arts
 
   
 


  Artist Statement
     
   

My paintings are often of interiors that are inventions on my part. They are pieced together from many sources. My own drawings, other paintings, photographs sometimes even direct observation. I assemble these sources within the structure of linear perspective (in truth I have always found a sense of pleasure in the feeling of depth on a two dimensional surface) often I distort scale and shift perspective in order to manipulate the space I use these devices in an attempt to subvert he space, to force it to do something other than what it logically should do. Although these images tend to come together in their own unique way there are many artists that I look to for guidance Pieter DeHooch is someone I often reference in my work. Edward Hopper is another for many of the same reasons. Mondrian is someone I look at in terms of how spaces are divided also in my experience of his work there are some very interesting spatial (depth) shifts that occur regarding his use of color. Lastly Magritte for his ability to never represent what he appears to present.
Beyond these formal issues, I think that at its best, any artwork has at its core a question. For myself I know the impetus for creating always begins with a question (which inevitably leads to more questions and in turn deeper into the work). Some of the questions I might ask of you when you look at these pieces are, what lies beyond the doorway, or around the wall, is it possible to even get there? Could these spaces exist if so where and if not why? Are the spaces comfortable or uneasy (or both), Could you exist in them, could anyone? These are some of the things I ask myself or attempt to ask viewers. Often I consider these questions to be parallel to larger questions, those of life and death of deception and truth. I don’t expect answers to these questions however through this process; I have come to realize that the questions hold far more significance than the answers.

     
 
    Education
     
  6/98 to 6/00 Master of Fine Arts Degree
University of California at Davis, Davis, CA
  9/95 to 5/97 Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree
San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
  1990 to 1994 Los Medanos College, Pittsburg, CA
 
    Selected exhibitions
     
  2004

“New Work”, Open Mind Gallery, Bowling Green, KY

  2003

Art Faculty Show, Western Kentucky University Art Gallery, Bowling Green, KY

  2002

“Process Show”, Western Kentucky University Art Gallery, Bowling Green, KY

  2002 Art Faculty Show, Western Kentucky University Art Gallery, Bowling Green, KY
  2001 “Still Life”, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
  2001 *“Introductions”, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
  2000 *"2000 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition", Richard L. Nelson Gallery, Davis, CA
  2000 "Keep This Copy for Your Records", Memorial Union Gallery, Davis, CA
  2000 "Fortune Cookie", Center for the Arts, Sacramento CA
  1999 "The Wedding", Center for the Arts, Sacramento, CA
  1999

"Blind Date", Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkeley, CA

  Richard Nelson Gallery, Davis, CA
  Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, England
  1995 “Small Images”, Riverside Community College, Riverside, CA
     
    * solo shows