About

Gail Leija

My work explores the tensions between control and spontaneity, the deliberate and the emergent, and the ways in which we attempt to find meaning in the world, even in the face of uncertainty and chaos.

I am inspired by the surfaces of my urban environment, the assemblages I construct in my studio, and my evolving collection of found objects and images. I layer these through a combination of traditional and digital techniques to create the baroque density and visual abundance which provides the fertile ground for my exploration, willfully mixing a wide variety of styles and motifs from popular culture, as well as art history. Each piece discovers its own balance point between complexity and clarity, density and space, field and form. By sifting through the resulting entanglements, affinities and collisions, I look for ways to release the energy that they generate, capturing these discoveries as limited edition prints and mixed media collages.

I discovered a fascination with the intersection of art and technology at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where I graduated with a BFA in Electronic and Kinetic Sculpture, continuing this exploration with an MFA in Arts & Technology from the University of Texas. My interdisciplinary background has informed my career as a digital Creative Director and my practice as a mixed media artist in Toronto.

Please contact me for inquiries about commissions and print purchases.