A Fine Pairing: Rosa Leff and Kelly Walker Exhibition Opening

Exhibition Opening: FRI MAR 22 | 6-9PM
On View: FRI MAR 22 – SAT APR 20

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The exhibition “A Fine Pairing” provides insight into the works of Rosa Leff and Kelly Walker. The analogy of their work being like a fine wine pairing with cheese or chocolate suggests a harmonious and complementary relationship on the gallery walls. The unifying theme in both of their artworks is the celebration of the city. The details the artists explore in their work encourage you to look closely! The exhibition description ends with a hopeful note, encouraging viewers to appreciate the tiny cut details in Leff’s work and recognize that these details contribute to making city living an enriching experience.

Kelly Walker describes her work as “wild explosions of color.” She uses spray paint over intricate textures, followed by finishing touches with melted wax that adds layers and depth to the pieces, transforming chaos into refinement. On the other hand, Rosa Leff’s work, “meticulously hand-cut from a single sheet of paper using a knife,” draws inspiration from photos taken by the artist. A Fine Pairing offers a diverse and thought-provoking exploration of artistic collaboration, vibrant city life, and the beauty found in the details of both chaos and refinement.

Artist Bios

ROSA LEFF
Between painting alongside her grandmother and watching her father build reproduction antique furniture, Rosa Leff grew up seeing no distinction between fine art and craft. What mattered was that things were made by hand and done well.  It is with that in mind that she creates her hand-cut paper pieces. Each of Leff’s papercuts is cut by hand from a single sheet of paper using a knife. Her cityscapes are based on photos she’s taken in her neighborhood and all over the world. While Leff is best known for her ability to capture thin tangles of powerlines and intricate brickwork, she also enjoys experimenting with novel mediums such as paper plates and paper towels. Leff delights in bringing a modern, urban perspective to a traditional folk medium.

Leff has served on the board of The Guild of American Papercutters (GAP). In addition to being a GAP member she is a member of The Paper Artist Collective.  Leff has exhibited her work throughout the United States, in China, and in Mexico.  Her  work has been acquired by The Canton Museum of Art (Canton, OH), The Colored Girls Museum (Philadelphia, PA), and The Museum of International Folk Art (Santa Fe, NM).  She is the recipient of a 2021 Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artist Award, the 2021 Municipal Art Society of Baltimore City Artist Travel Prize, and the 2023 360 Xochi Quetzal BIPOC Residency. Leff resides in Puerto Rico with her husband and chihuahuas, Chalupa and Refrito.

KELLY WALKER
Kelly L. Walker is an American-born, self-taught artist who found her way to Baltimore, Maryland, by the age of 18. Walker absorbs the beauty, chaos, and reality of Baltimore City and channels it into her work. Walker paints in fits of inspiration, translating her mood and emotion to canvas. She pushes mediums past their intended purpose and encourages them to collide and react, not rejecting happy accidents. Her works are intricately layered using a wide range of atypical materials, calling reference to landscape, graffiti, and color fields.