About the Artist

Candace Leslie

 Candace Leslie  is a self-taught oil painter and collage artist, born and raised in Columbus, GA. Her motivation and style is inspired by a strong appreciation for plant life, natural elements, fable and folklore. She achieves this by utilizing a hybrid practice combining gritty, gnarled textures and multi-layered brushstroke techniques with transformative chroma. She paints upon various surfaces, including wood panel, framed canvases and long, linen strips. Ever pressed, Candace mounts her exploration of nurturing, with aspects of black haircare, as a rite of passing on cultural knowledge: this symbiotic nurturing is transmitted across generations through women and children, showcased inside surreal, folkloric settings.

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Candace's work has been presented in the West Harlem Arts Group Exhibition 2021, in a collaborative cohort for the Hair at Ely Center for Contemporary Art, 2022. She recently finished a painting in a collaborative art partnership with PATHOS Creative, where she and Director  Sophia Morris-Pittman  created a community banner called “We Belong” (2023). Candace is currently presenting her work at Home to Harlem and The Rio III Gallery in Harlem, New York.

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Candace is also a recipient of the Davis Projects for Peace Grant through JumpstArt NYC.