Art in the Library

Artist Statement: Elsa Leandros

Elsa began painting during her teen years, in Miami Florida, in the 70's, a time of evolving trends in the art world. In her 20's she moved back to Madrid, Spain, the city of her childhood to join an international airline as a flight attendant to have the opportunity to travel the world. On her free time, she continued with her artistic interest, mostly as a hobby. Still, she took advantage of the many layovers in the major European capitals to visit, in numerous occasions, the best art museums in the world: The Prado, The Louvre, British Museum, and many others, besides art galleries and art fairs. It was then that Elsa realized that the artists that moved her the most were the self-taught masters that created their own style and genre, such as Van Gogh, Rousseau, and the ones who broke away from what they had learnt in art academies to create their own style: Paul Klee, Gaugin, Matisse, Dali, Picasso, Miro, and many others. Back from Europe, Elsa moved to New York City where she lived for 25 years. Inspired by these masters, Elsa decided to start painting again, even more so after visiting The Met, MOMA, The Guggenheim museums, plus the numerous art galleries in Soho. Elsa calls her technique Improvisational Creativity. It means she just lets the painting happen. "I don't use models, or specific objects. Instead I just paint on the canvas whatever happens at the moment. I don't even know what the painting is going to look like until I'm done." Her medium of choice is acrylic, and sometimes oils. "I believe art is not only for museums and art collectors, but for everyone. Having a one of a kind painting on the wall, that makes people smile when they see it, that's my intention."

Come Meet Elsa at her reception on July 10 @ 7:00 pm 

More Information