STATEMENT

I use the human figure in my work because we cannot help but project on and relate to it. The bodies in my work are multiplied in different poses, twisting, floating and falling on a ground purged of contextualizing marks. I never pose my models; they have free reign to move in an immediate, improvised dance. This looseness contrasts with a fastidious drawing technique, where I capture the bodies of my models as if formal elements in a collage. I see them transformed from free individuals into symbolic figures. This is akin to the transformation of human experience in mythology and religion. The influence of mythology on my artwork is often hinted at in the titles, though my work is not a direct illustration of the stories. What I’m after is that kernel at the heart of the story, the core that will always resonate human experience.

CV

Education

2009

Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY 11205
M.F.A. Painting/Drawing.

2007

State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY 14063
B.F.A. Painting/Drawing, Minor: Art History.
Summa Cum Laude.

Solo Exhibitions

2018    
“Soliloquies,” Anna Zorina Gallery, New York, NY

2016
“Levitation,” Anna Zorina Gallery, New York, NY

2014
“Constellations,” Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN
“Stellify,” Dillon Gallery, New York, NY

2013
“Stellify,” The Gallery at Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY

2012
“Infinitum,” Dacia Gallery, New York, NY

2011
“Illumination,” Dacia Gallery, New York, NY

2010
“Lost in Space,” Weeks Gallery, Olean, NY

2009
“Leah Yerpe: Thesis Exhibition,” Pratt Studios Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

2004
“Images in Black and White,” Jamestown Community College, Olean, NY

Group Exhibitions

2017
“Fluid,” Steuben Gallery Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
“Summer Cool,” Anna Zorina Gallery, New York, NY
“Upbeat,” Anna Zorina Gallery, New York, NY

2016
“Summer Hours,” Anna Zorina Gallery, New York, NY
“A Fine Line: Masterwork Drawings,” Paul Mahder Gallery, Healdsburg, CA
“Art on Paper,” art fair, New York, NY
“Winter Tales,” Anna Zorina Gallery, New York, NY
“Context Art Miami,” Art Fair, Miami, FL

2015
“Summer Group Show,” Anna Zorina Gallery, New York, NY
“Far and Away,” Weeks Gallery, Jamestown, NY
“Art Market San Francisco,” art fair, San Francisco, CA
“Zona Maco,” art fair, Mexico City, Mexico

2014
“Art Southampton,” art fair, Southampton, NY
“Art Wynwood,” art fair, Miami, FL
“Silicon Valley Contemporary,” art fair, San Jose, CA
“Summer, Sex, & Spirits,” Hudson Terrace, New York, NY

2013
“Highlights,” The Gallery at Le Poisson Rouse, NY
“Art Southampton,” art fair, Southampton, NY
“Art Wynwood,” art fair, Miami, FL
“New York,” (traveling exhibition), European House of Art; Mazières-de-Touraine, France; Erfut, Germany; Sibiu, Romania

2012
“Holiday Show,” Dacia Gallery, NY
“Anonymous: The Contemporary Portrait,” Chautauqua Institute, Chautauqua, NY
“WagMag Benefit Art Auction,“ The Boiler, Brooklyn, NY
“Fountain Art Fair,” 69th Regiment Armory, NY
“Reflections,” Dacia Gallery, NY
“Hyperboreans,” Dacia Gallery, NY

2011
“Governor’s Island Art Fair,” Governor’s Island, New York, NY
“Unlucky Art Social,” 269 Meserole Loft, Brooklyn, NY
“Japan Society Benefit Exhibition,” Smile Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“Wide Open,” (people’s choice) Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY

2010
“2010 Winter Salon,” Elga Wimmer PCC, NY
“Small Works Invitational,” The Painting Center, NY
“Governor’s Island Art Fair,” Governor’s Island, NY
“Remedy,” The Loom, Brooklyn, NY
“Wide Open,” (best in show) Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY

2009
“Pratt MFA Exhibition,” Pratt Manhattan Gallery, NY
“Exchange,” Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ

2008
“Small Works,” Lucky Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“BYOA Exhibition,” Steuben South Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

2007
“Erie Art Museum Annual Spring Show,” (juried show) Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA
“Great Lakes Emerging Artist Competition,” (juried show) Adams Art Gallery, Dunkirk, NY “Monotype and Intaglio,” Emmitt Christian Gallery, Fredonia, NY

2006
“Fredonia Five,” 150 Central Gallery, Fredonia, NY
“Figures,” Emmitt Christian Gallery, Fredonia, NY

2005
“UB-Fredonia Exchange Show,” University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY“Art Forum Annual Exhibition,” Williams Center Gallery, Fredonia, NY
“Emerging Painters,” Palace Gallery, Jamestown, NY

Select Press/Publication

2017
Hurt, Mary.  “Falling Up,” Quiet Lunch, volume 4, Spring/Summer 2017: 80. Print.

2014
Jordan, Courtney.  “Bodies Come Crashing to the Ground,” Artist Daily, 31 July. Online.
McCray, Liz Rice. “Leah Yerpe,” Bl!ss Magazine, issue 84, August: 45. Print.
“New and Notable,” Drawing Magazine, Spring 2014. Print
Trucco, Terry. “Under the Influence,” IN New York, March: 30. Print.

2013
Fernández, Marcos. “Mitos Y Otras Frecuencias,” CLONE Magazine, 29 March. Online.
“Handpicked: Leah Yerpe,” Rooms, issue 11, April: 62. Print.
Rice, Mallory. “Art Attack: Leah Yerpe” NYLON, volume 14, April: 162. Print.

2012
Hamer, Joanna. “Anonymous exhibition provides new insights on subject, viewer of portraits,” The Chautauquan Daily,18 July. Print.
Inch, Rachel. “Minutiae of Life | Leah Yerpe,” Muse Magazine, 24 November. Online.
“Leah Yerpe – Art,” SZUmag, 3 Dec. Online.
“Leah Yerpe,” iGNANT, 10 Dec. Online.
Maidman, Daniel. “Bodies in Space: Leah Yerpe’s Very Large Drawings,” Huffington Post Arts & Culture Blog, 17 Sept.Online.
Nakause, Cory. “Rendering Flight: A Visual Artist’s Dance,” Dance Enthusiast, Sept. Online
“The Works of Leah Yerpe,” Juxtapoz, 14 Nov. Online.

2011
Strick, Charlotte.  “Women By Women,” the Paris Review, issue 199, Winter 2011: 94, 116. Print.
Mercado, Jillian. “Who Am I: Leah Yerpe,” PMc Magazine, April issue. Online.

2010
Vaughn, Arlissa. “Featured Artists: Leah Yerpe,” Visual Overture, volume 2, Fall: 8-9. Print