Lehna Huie
For the second year in a row, the majority of art schools have opted not to stage graduate shows or open studios (Rundgänge in Germany) as a consequence of the ongoing global pandemic. These opportunities for both current and graduating students to showcase their work to the public, gallerists and other art world professionals are crucial as they embark on their careers as practising artists, which is why we decided to dedicate our summer to publishing this series of Spotlights featuring recent graduates from all over the world.
This week is the last in the series and we’re delighted to close it out with Lehna Huie, selected by our NYC Correspondent, Caroline Blockus.
What is a typical day in the studio like for you?
I describe my practice as a process of patchworking. Every day in the studio looks vastly different from the next in many ways, yet there are patterns of repetition throughout. I believe that the studio is anywhere I am and therefore, I embody that space wherever I go. When I am in a traditional studio setting, it is just as significant for me as the city streets. Growing up in New York City the rhythms of the city streets in places such as Baltimore, New Orleans and all throughout the world are great sources of inspiration in my life’s work.
I often find myself obsessively rummaging through material and gathering family photographs, sacred objects, scraps of paper and textiles to build my paintings and installation spaces. I utilise a lot of open creative thinking space in my practice to further develop my visions and communicate with spirit to create my “ living altar” environments. Accumulation is a big part of my practice and I am intrigued by gathering and clustering material together. As a multidisciplinary artist, it can look different on any given day.
Your experience of art school in 5 #
#grounding
#compelling
#expansive
#unexpectedshifts
#immensegrowth
Whose work inspires you?
I am inspired by many types of artists and creative spaces. I am inspired by liminal work that moves across realms, is not linear and might not fit into a box of how most people define art. I am inspired by painters, sculptors, poets, musicians and the theatre arts who express a sensation of freedom, cultural critique and spiritual transformation. Artists such as Thornton Dial, Abigail DeVille, Chakaia Booker and Guadalupe Maravilla are inspiring to me as they break boundaries by addressing history and heritage in unique ways. Their work seems to crawl into every crevice of the in-between spaces we might not always want to face and I seek to always be in a place of deeper truth telling and exploration on this life's journey.
What’s on your mind?
My collage work is ever evolving and I could not be more excited. The whole concept of collage is shifting for me lately in that it can be so much more than I ever imagined in the many iterations I am exploring.
What’s your dream project,?
My dream project is to continue my installation works and for them to be presented at a larger scale. I would love to continue to develop the spatial environment for my autobiographical series titled Wood and Water, and for the work to travel. The work features a figurative portrait of my mother and her twin sister that has an overarching theme of a maternal family tree. The additional works in the series embody land masses and sacred sites where my ancestors are from. I envision this to be a work that travels in both a large open gallery space and can also have iterations outdoors. I would love to incorporate other art forms by inviting other artists, performers and musicians to help to activate the space with costume, light and sound. I envision using light, reflection, soundscape and shadow through multiple mediums and disparate materials.
Lehna is an MFA graduate of Mount Royal College of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).
