Leslie Vigeant, Cloud X
November 17, 2023 - January 1, 2024
One Grand Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Cloud X, a romantic reflection anchored by absurdity and artificiality, by Portland-based visual artist Leslie Vigeant. This body of work mirrors warped experiences regarding relationships, home, pleasure, excess, falsehood, jealousy, and the engrained and naive ways in which we compare ourselves to those around us. By way of large scale collage, painting, sculpture, and immersive lighting, Cloud X invites you to spin with your spinning thoughts. Works such as “The Stage” span an impressive 19ft expanse on the gallery wall. Its inclusion of bright neons and collaged objects lend this piece a layered presence that demands a viewer’s full attention. Yet, the additional imagery of soft clouds and a plush bed in an ornate, Rococo setting imbues the piece with a dreamy and calming presence.
Leslie’s studio practice pokes at the perceived hierarchies of social expectations. Cloud X is no exception. She plays with the clash of expectations versus reality—the romantic notions of what someone, or something, "should" be versus what it actually is, resulting in work that holds humor and sadness, seduction and repulsion. With the ever-present doom scrolling on TikTok and Instagram, where do we, the everyday people, fit in in a world that is presented as beautifully curated houses, couture cakes, cocktails, and clothing—all under the umbrella of seemingly effortless snapshots of perfected, peaceful living?
Leslie Vigeant (vee-junt) knows how to sweat. Based in Portland, OR, her practice is filled with artificial skyscapes, big-box store cakes, colored lights, and spreadsheets galore. She is the Director of Marketing and Communications at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), Manager of the GLEAN Residency, and she plays with the hierarchies of social expectations in her studio.
Leslie received her MFA in Applied Craft + Design from Oregon College of Art and Craft / Pacific Northwest College of Art and has a BFA in 2D Studies and Painting from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Leslie has exhibited at the Winnipeg Underground Film Festival, Canada; Woodbury Art Museum, UT; AIA, San Francisco, CA; Cambridge College, MA; University of Missouri, MO; Marchutz School, Aix en Provence, France; Stephanie Chefas Projects and beyond She has received grants from Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Portland’s Regional Art and Culture Council, the Oregon Arts Commission, and Massachusetts Arts Council. Residencies with Recology, Artspace, Penland School of Crafts. Leslie was a founding member of the artist-run space Carnation Contemporary and the Interim Board President of the Contemporary Art Council (CAC) at the Portland Art Museum.
Press:
Oregon Live
@someladyvee
leslievigeant.com