Terry Leness is part of a new generation of painters pushing Photorealism forward. Her highly detailed paintings in this new series focus on an unexpected subject matter: manufactured homes and trailers in the southeastern California desert. By depicting the underprivileged in an area known for its images of excessive privilege, Leness is elevating important voices – she is commenting on the complexities of these domestic spaces as seen through her eyes – the eyes of a female painter – still an underrepresented group in Photorealism.
Her compositions are about the play of light and shadow on objects, about varying degrees of contrast, and about deep, saturated color all uniting under the unique light conditions of the dry California desert. She is looking for those long shadows cast by buildings, window reflections, and pockets of darkness under eaves and in doorways. But instead of painting the architectural gems by noted architects the desert is known for, Leness is focusing on another development of the 1950s and 60s – factory-built homes. These homes were marketed as an affordable housing option but in reality the construction was often subpar and their value depreciated quickly leaving the owners with little to show for their investment. By turning her brush on this complicated subject matter, Leness is asking us to look at the continuing housing crisis in Southern California as well as the rapidly growing divide between the haves and have-nots in the United States.
Leness is giving importance to images that are not of the elevated cannon of high architecture – these are the treasured homes of the other inhabitants of the region. Leness’ depictions of the meticulously cared for homes along with those in different stages of decline and abandonment also illuminate the socio-economic devastation of the Salton Sea. The man-made lake was sold as a vacation mecca but is now a toxic remnant of what it was supposed to be with small communities holding on as best they can. Each house, each camper, each eccentric landscaping scheme has a story to tell about the history of this place. The California Dream that was sold to so many and achieved by very few.
Leness’ paintings are exquisite in their melancholy. Her abilities with oil paint are at their height in the wood paneling, the corrugated plastic, the shadows on gravel, and the ocotillo and palm trees. The paintings are intimate in scale – none over thirty inches wide – they bring us in to explore and revel in the mundane and ask us to question the history of these places. The unexpectedness of Leness’ rigorously honed painting skill focusing on the everyday subject matter gives the paintings a unique voice and a significant place in the art historical narrative of Photorealism.
TERRY LENESS received her BA in Art History from Harvard in 1981. Her paintings have been included in exhibitions throughout the United State and in art fairs in San Francisco and Seattle. She was awarded residencies with the Ucross Foundation (2012 – Clearmont, WY) and Centrum (2010 – Port Townsend, WA). Her work has been published in New American Paintings, The Seattle Times, Seattle Magazine, The Stranger (cover), International Artist, Studio Visit Magazine, and On Center among others. She lives and works in Teiton, WA.
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