Leila Cartier

LEILA CARTIER Counterfeit Forest

These collages have been constructed using hand-cut images of jewelry found in magazines.

They are assembled and adhered to paper made from stone creating a disparity between the expectation of permanence and value versus fragility and worthlessness. The tree forms are captured at peak bloom to radiate the excesses of contemporary culture. In many a memento mori can be found, a small skull broach hidden the composition, symbolizing the evils of greed and inevitable demise.

Other recent paintings and collages have been inspired by the novel Against Nature by JorisKarl Huysmans whose main character Des Esseintes becomes disillusioned by modern urban life and escapes to the countryside. He immerses himself in aesthetic pleasures to appease his cynical attitude and desensitized palate, but is ultimately overcome by exaggerated and hallucinatory visions.

Green, collage on stone paper, 64x38 Green, collage on stone paper, 64x38

Black, collage on stone paper, 64x38

Blue, collage on stone paper, 64x38

Indigo, collage on stone paper, 64x38

Yellow, collage on stone paper, 64x38

Violet, collage on stone paper, 64x38

Orange, collage on stone paper, 64x38

2Red,

collage on stone paper, 64x38

d watercolor on paper mounted on cradled birch panel

Black Pit, collage on stone paper, 38 x 44

Flowers in Yellow and White, Oil on canvas 68” x 104”

White Pit, collage on stone paper, 38 x 44

Inlaid Tortoise, collage on stone paper, 30 x 30

I grew up in Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains surrounded by vast expanses of nature and in the heart of the coal industry. My BFA in Art History and Studio Art is from Moore College of Art & Design with a year spent abroad at Temple University Rome, Italy. My MFA in Painting and Drawing is from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Through a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, I also studied Arabic at DePaul University while at SAIC. In early 2015 I moved my studio practice into 1241 Carpenter Studios + Project Space in South Philadelphia. Currently, I am working with the startup organization CraftNOW Philadelphia, which aims to promote the role of the City in the fields of craft and making.

SCHMIDT/DEAN GALLERY 1719 Chestnut Street 4th Floor Philadelphia, Pa. 19103 215-569-9433 schmidtdean@netzero.net www.schmidtdean.com