“I am hiding and revealing layers of color, line, memory and imagination with each thread sewn or mark painted.”
- Heidi Leitzke
My work is rooted in observation of nature, while exploring the realms of my imagination. I create works on paper and thread paintings depicting secret islands, lush gardens and moonlit lakes; these are places that at once feel familiar and exuberant, or haunting and not quite real. In all of my work nature serves as a symbolic expression of my human experience. As I hide and reveal layers and lines of color, I am drawing on the experiences that have shaped my life. I am not trying to render an exact likeness of any one place, but rather absorb and reflect the spirit of aliveness I find in nature.
These works on paper were made outside as I was both observing and absorbing nature. I often feel like my eyes are getting a much-needed massage as I study the shifting light and shadows falling on the landscape. My goal has recently been to find and paint locations that are layered and complex, where the space can be stacked and compressed. The resulting paintings are a synthesis of my perception, a study of the details of a particular place, and a celebration of the renewing power of nature.
She "makes islands of fabric, stitchery of many colors, threads that become trees, and bushes upon dyed linen, with applied paint, tiny things, jewel ideas, self-contained, that favorite island of the mind."
- Anthony Bannon, executive director of the Burchfield Penney Art Center
When my son was born, I found that I could no longer spend long hours in my studio painting large canvases. The process and mess of oil painting was just too much. I turned back to the cherished format of hand-held embroidery, the basics of which I learned as a child, and found a process, which was perfect for that point in my life. Now, years later, I am thankful for the life change that altered the path of my work, because what I am making feels true and exciting.
Painting with thread is intimate, malleable, and portable. When I set this work down, the needle stays where I leave it, a physical and mental cue, reminding me where to start next. The remarkable range of thread colors, layered with washes of paint, may be used in a sophisticated and painterly manner. The mark-making vocabulary I am building seems to have limitless potential. The complicated surface texture created by thread woven into linen has a seductive quality, which appeals to a human’s desire to touch. The relationship between the diminutive size of the linen rectangle is in contrast to the landscape imagery creating a subtle but compelling contradiction in these embroidered vignettes, secret gardens and islands of wonder.
Henlopen Dunes
9" x 12"
Ink & Watercolor On Rives BFK
Heidi Leitzke (b. Chicago 1979) grew up in Wisconsin and lives and works in Lancaster, PA. She received a BA from Anderson University and MFA from Western Carolina University. Some of her first paintings were made in Corciano, Italy while studying abroad for a semester through American University’s Art in Italy program. Her desire to work from nature grew over the two summers she spent painting in the landscape with Stanley Lewis at Chautauqua School of Art. Leitzke works in gouache and ink on paper, oil on canvas and her signature thread paintings, which are created with layers of thread and acrylic on linen. Leitzke is an Assistant Professor of Art and Director of the Eckert Art Gallery at Millersville University.
Gross McCleaf is pleased to present Short & Sweet IV, a pair of mini-exhibitions featuring works by Marilyn Holsing and Heidi Leitzke. These southeastern Pennsylvania-based painters focus on the investigation and narrative possibilities of botanicals.
Oil and gouache artist Marilyn Holsing depicts anthropomorphized arrangements that convey their distinct personalities through form and gesture. Flowers are posed in precarious positions, emphasizing strength and persistence. Her seemingly corporeal subjects huddle humorously in vulnerable vignettes, some beaming with pride, while others appear to droop in sorrow. Their leaves stretch and strain as they tenaciously grasp onto neighboring stems, reinforcing the growing tangle.
While Holsing’s colors and textures accurately depict the delicate, natural beauty of her plants, there are alluring details throughout that lean into the delightfully grotesque.
Women have been the cornerstone of operations and exhibitions at Gross McCleaf since Estelle Shane Gross opened her gallery in 1970 on the second floor of 1713 Walnut Street. Over 50 years later, Gross McCleaf is commemorating its rich history during (re)Focus 2024, a citywide festival celebrating women-identified and BIPOC artists.
Fortitude at 50: A Resilient Five Decades at Gross McCleaf Gallery features Martha Armstrong, Jan Baltzell, Joan Becker, Elizabeth Geiger, Eileen Goodman, Penelope Harris, Heidi Leitzke, Bertha Leonard, Ying Li, Ann Lofquist, Chelsey Luster, Bethann Parker, Nicole Parker, Jane Piper, Kimi Pryor, Mary Putman, Celia Reisman, Val Rossman, Mickayel Thurin, Leigh Werrell, and Lauren Whearty with self-portraits, dreamy narratives and formally complex still-life and landscape paintings. The works suggest a deep reflection of the self and a strong point of view conveyed through their distinct subjects and styles. The exhibition represents women artists in all stages of their careers who have helped shape the Gross McCleaf legacy and brand focus toward what Sharon Ewing, former owner and director, refers to as “painterly realism” – representation in painted form.
“I believe artists must make space for pleasure in painting, both in the act of painting and in the pleasure of viewing it.”
-Lauren Whearty
In her first solo exhibition with Gross McCleaf Gallery, titled Painter’s Table, Lauren Whearty celebrates cheerful color and playful patterns in a contemporary take on the artistic tradition of still life painting. With a keen eye for possibilities within this genre, Whearty embraces a feminist perspective, using everyday objects as building blocks to create her own distinctive universe. Each item she incorporates becomes a referential exploration of art history and the process of image creation, adding depth and meaning to her work.
