VSL: Veronica S. Leandrez

Artist Thesis

Krama nyatvam parinama nyatve hetuh
The cause will determine how the sequence unfolds
Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras III:15

I was chosen to study graphic design at the age of 11 as part of a new magnet program for an inner city school in Miami. I continued my creative education studying at Design and Architecture Senior High, but felt too confined by the rigidity imposed by the actual profession. I rediscovered my love of painting at Tulane University. Being the most fluid of the 2-dimensional art forms, it allowed me to explore conceptually and also create my own process. My years of drawing provided me with a solid foundation by which to refine my understanding of the human form. By our very nature, humans learn to decipher visual cues expressed in body language and my hope was to learn to communicate feeling to the viewer by understanding how to portray those visual cues. My early paintings were a study of visual narration through the human form as icon and subject. I have carried that understanding into my later explorations of mythical narratives and scenes.
Art-making has become a form of spiritual practice. I have found that there is a direct connection between the physical and the ethereal worlds when we participate in any creative process. It is through the exploration of our creativity that we come to understand our nature. I believe Art to be a spiritual act which celebrates life and it's beauty. Each and every creative moment reflects our own unique and personal communion with the universe. I have continually attempted to produce a body of work which lives up to the feminist motto: "the personal is political". My affinity for subjects like philosophy, mythology, and culture have continually infused my subject matter while my environmental concerns have guided my process and media. In Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel discusses how the subject is constituted by "the process of reflectively mediating itself with itself." As each person participates in the act of creation, they become a mirror and a channel by which the universe filters through their experience. I seek to explore those moments by which "the self" creates itself through each symbolic act expression. The media and product become secondary to the process by which each experience is manifested. If you are interested in knowing more about ideas which have shaped my work, you can read a paper I wrote in 1998: Women, Art, and Action.

List of Exhibits

Anba Dlo II: Waterline at The New Orleans Healing Center, Halloween 2009.

The Grand Opening of the Bywater Art Lofts June 4th, 2009.

Curator of "Art for Earth's Sake" at The New Orleans Healing Center from April 22- May 22 2009. A group show with art by Chris Kaiser, Matteo Neivert, Christopher Scott Brumfield, Travis Linde and Veronica Leandrez. Read a review.

A Ceremony for the New Year of the OX with poetry and installation art. Music by Moose & Apotheosis, spins by Dj Doyle & Dr.Umbra at The Warehouse on 617 Piety Street, January 25th, 2009.

Group Show: Travis Linde, Lexi Linde, Kathleen Kadair and Veronica Leandrez At the Rusty Pelican Art Studio 4031-33 St. Claude, December 13 2008- Jan 4 2009.

Anba Dlo: From Beneath The Waters The debut of "The Black Metal Mermaid" at The New Orleans Healing Center, Halloween 2008.

30 Original Works by me from the touring exhibit"New Orleans Spirit a' Risen" on display from July 1st through August 1st 2008 at The Grass Cup Cafe.

"New Orleans: Spirit a' Risen" at Artful Gallery in Washington D.C. June 2008.

"Oshun Watches Over New Orleans" at the Pickford Auditorium in The Library of Congress, Washington D.C. Thursday June 5th, 2008.

The Grand Opening of the touring art show by Bedonna Wakeman, Eric Buchanan, and Veronica Leandrez,"New Orleans: Spirit a' Risen" at Ray's Boom Boom Room, 508 Frenchmen Street, New Orleans April 2008.

"Miniatures" Group Show Insley Art Gallery at Lee Circle, December 1, 2007.

The Goddess Portraits at The Grand Opening of The Crescent Lotus Studio Calhoun Street, January 2007.

Saturday, November 17th, 2007 Ladyfest New Orleans at The Big Top's Three Ring Circus 1638 Clio Street.

A New Orleans Benefit Show Imagine 360 Gallery, Grand Haven Michigan June 30th 2007.

The Struggles With Subjectivity Stewart and O'Reagan's Center for New Disciplines, 929 Julia Street. March-April 2007. Read a review.

Fall of 2006- The Goddess Portraits at The Nadine Vorhoff Library, in collaboration with the Newcomb College Center for Research on Women (NCCROW).

The Hybrid Show Palma Gallery, Howard Avenue, April/May 2005. Read a review.
Local Art BenefitRoyalblues Gallery, 628 Royal Street, March 2005.

Contemporary Women Painters Exhibit Galerie Dalray 713 Royal Street, August 2006.

Art Evacuated The Grass Cup Cafe, Holland Michigan.

Art for F*cks Sake 2004The Blue Nile, on Frenchmen Street, April 2004.

Gumbo Dada Sponsored by UNO, October 2003.

Casa Luna Llena Casa Luna Llena 1225 St. Roch Avenue, August 2003.

The Louisiana Purchase Dismantled, Barrister's Gallery, May 2003.

Women and Female Sexuality Group ShowSponsored by BirthCHOICE at the ARK, 501 Marigny Street, June 2001.

No Dead Artists ShowAnnual juried exhibit at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, April 2001.
El @rea Show Solo Exhibit at El @rea Cafe in Valencia, Spain, November 2000.

Retrograde: B.F.A. ShowThe Woldenberb Art Gallery on Newcomb's Campus at Tulane University, May 2000.

Annual Spring Arts FestivalA juried exhibiton at Tulane University on April 1999. Awarded "Best Painting" for The Girl and the Bees.

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This site was designed by me. Copywright Veronica S. Leandrez 2003-2010. VSL ART, All rights reserved.

	Anba Dlo II: Waterline at The New Orleans Healing Center, Halloween 2009. The Grand Opening of the Bywater Art Lofts June 4th, 2009. Curator of "Art for Earth's Sake" at The New Orleans Healing Center from April 22- May 22 2009. A group show with art by Chris Kaiser, Matteo Neivert, Christopher Scott Brumfield, Travis Linde and Veronica Leandrez. Read a review.
	A Ceremony for the New Year of the OX with poetry and installation art. Music by Moose & Apotheosis, spins by Dj Doyle & Dr.Umbra at The Warehouse on 617 Piety Street, January 25th, 2009. Group Show: Travis Linde, Lexi Linde, Kathleen Kadair and Veronica Leandrez At the Rusty Pelican Art Studio 4031-33 St. Claude, December 13 2008- Jan 4 2009.
	Anba Dlo: From Beneath The Waters The debut of "The Black Metal Mermaid" at The New Orleans Healing Center, Halloween 2008. 30 Original Works by me from the touring exhibit"New Orleans Spirit a' Risen" on display from July 1st through August 1st 2008 at The Grass Cup Cafe. "New Orleans: Spirit a' Risen" at Artful Gallery in Washington D.C. June 2008. "Oshun Watches Over New Orleans" at the Pickford Auditorium in The Library of Congress, Washington D.C. Thursday June 5th, 2008. The Grand Opening of the touring art show by Bedonna Wakeman, Eric Buchanan, and Veronica Leandrez,"New Orleans: Spirit a' Risen" at Ray's Boom Boom Room, 508 Frenchmen Street, New Orleans April 2008.
	"Miniatures" Group Show Insley Art Gallery at Lee Circle, December 1, 2007. The Goddess Portraits at The Grand Opening of The Crescent Lotus Studio Calhoun Street, January 2007. Saturday, November 17th, 2007 Ladyfest New Orleans at The Big Top's Three Ring Circus 1638 Clio Street. A New Orleans Benefit Show Imagine 360 Gallery, Grand Haven Michigan June 30th 2007. The Struggles With Subjectivity Stewart and O'Reagan's Center for New Disciplines, 929 Julia Street. March-April 2007. Read a review. Fall of 2006- The Goddess Portraits at The Nadine Vorhoff Library, in collaboration with the Newcomb College Center for Research on Women (NCCROW).

	The Hybrid Show Palma Gallery, Howard Avenue, April/May 2005. Read a review. Local Art BenefitRoyalblues Gallery, 628 Royal Street, March 2005. Contemporary Women Painters Exhibit Galerie Dalray 713 Royal Street, August 2006. Art Evacuated The Grass Cup Cafe, Holland Michigan.

	Art for Fcks Sake 2004The Blue Nile, on Frenchmen Street, April 2004. Gumbo Dada* Sponsored by UNO, October 2003. Casa Luna Llena Casa Luna Llena 1225 St. Roch Avenue, August 2003.

	The Louisiana Purchase Dismantled, Barrister's Gallery, May 2003. Women and Female Sexuality Group ShowSponsored by BirthCHOICE at the ARK, 501 Marigny Street, June 2001. No Dead Artists ShowAnnual juried exhibit at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, April 2001. El @rea Show Solo Exhibit at El @rea Cafe in Valencia, Spain, November 2000.

	Retrograde: B.F.A. ShowThe Woldenberb Art Gallery on Newcomb's Campus at Tulane University, May 2000. Annual Spring Arts FestivalA juried exhibiton at Tulane University on April 1999. Awarded "Best Painting" for The Girl and the Bees.