Artistry is proud to present LOUD JOY by LEEYA JACKSON in the Atrium Gallery at the Bloomington Center for the Arts January 5, 2024 through February 25, 2024.
OPENING RECEPTION/ARTIST TALK: Thursday, January 11th from 6:00-8:00pm
In “Loud Joy,” Leeya Jackson’s work is equally multi-modal, noisy, and curious, exploring themes related to her own neurodivergence, blackness, femininity, shame, and joy. Her interests lie in the complexity and strange beauty of Black neurodivergent girlhood, memory, and things in our shadows that others struggle to see. She is also inspired by and references the works of Afro-futuristic writer Octavia Butler, the story quilts of Faith Ringgold, the self-portraits of Frida Kahlo, and the heroic portraiture of Kehinde Wiley. She uses various mediums, such as painting, printmaking, design/typography, film, and animation, to create vibrant, lush, layered, and scattered imagery.
ARTIST BIO
Leeya Rose Jackson is a Painter, Creative Director, Filmmaker, Illustrator, and Graphic Designer from Detroit, Mi, and living in Minneapolis, MN. She runs an illustration shop under her moniker, LeeyaMakesNoise, and is the Creative Founder of Noisemakers Design Shop. Her artistic journey began in her youth, selling gel pen tattoos and designing prom dresses, but she was fascinated with astronomy and thought she’d become an astrophysicist until college. Her work explores the intersections of identity, specifically Blackness, femininity, and queerness, with the added motifs of celestial/universal surrealism. In her recent journey to being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, she has also started to explore questions about Black Neurodivergence in her artwork. Distinctive features of her work across all mediums are loud, vibrant color, maximalism, and afro-futurism.
She has practiced painting for 15 years, earning her BFA in Fine Art from Illinois Wesleyan University. She has exhibited in Florence, Italy, Detroit, Mi, California, Minneapolis, Fargo, ND, and Boston, MA. She is a member of the Mpls artist community, Roho Collective, and the part of the Public Functionary Studios Program. Leeya is a recipient of a 2023/24 MCAD–Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Early Career Artists, administered by the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and funded by the Jerome Foundation. She has done artist residencies in Moorhead, MN, Fargo, ND at NDSU/Pears Institute, and 2024 Grand Marais Artist Residency. Her illustration and graphic design have been commissioned by Afropunk Music Festival, American Public Media, The Coven Mpls, Adobe x Billie Eilish, Sony Music, Giphy, Metro Transit, Outside Lands Festival, Heinz, The Prince Estate, Voyageurs National Park, and NPCA.
www.leeyarosejackson.art