There are many types of landscapes: emotional, psychological, geographical, and physical. I create collage work from found paper along with my own imagery to construct these landscapes. I use encaustic wax, one of the oldest art practices, as a collage medium. I’m inspired by many contemporary and historic artists and movements, including the Mail Art Movement. My work often includes fragments of maps, which I’ve always been drawn to- the idea of mapping is beautiful to me. Orienting, grounding, from incredibly detailed to crude and abstract, guiding.
artist statement
leah swenson
I am a visual artist living and working in Denver, Colorado. I was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota in 1989. The landscape was very flat. In 2008, I drove across the country with a minivan full of my possessions to Seattle, Washington to attend Cornish College of the Arts, where I completed the first year of my undergraduate study of Fine Art with emphasis in photography. In 2010, I drove back across the country the opposite direction to finish my undergraduate work at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD) in Denver, CO. It was a long, lonely drive. In 2013, I completed my undergraduate work, earning a BFA summa cum laude with emphasis in photography and video from RMCAD.
I am a current member of the Artnauts Art Collective, and an active member of the Postcard Collective.
I'm currently an associate member at Pirate Contemporary Art in Denver's 40West Art District.
curriculum vitae
