Author Profile

ARTIST BIO
Leslie Pierce is a contemporary artist, known for art that focuses on themes involving coding systems, documentation, fragmentation and technology. Her ongoing series, “Code Defied” (2013- ), evolved from contrasting flattened and modeled forms of the human figure. While printing reference images, her printer ran out of ink and printed striations of color and fragmented parts of an image. This lead to an a-ha moment. The traditional way of painting is changed as Pierce employs vertical lines to generate value, form, space, time and place. Form and value seem to be ironed out, while simultaneously standing up, suspended in time.

Born in New York, Leslie spent part of her childhood behind the scenes of the Museum of Natural History where her father worked as a scientist. Mesmerized by the T-Rex bones and dinosaur exhibits and the life- sized dioramas, these early experiences influenced her adventurous spirit and formed her love for art and artifacts. Pierce relocated to Austin, Texas to attend The University of Texas at Austin. She holds two art degrees.

While living in Austin, Texas she organized and curated group art exhibits, taught Painting and Drawing for the Austin Museum of Art’s Art School, and founded and hosted a popular all- male model Life Drawing and Painting group for Austin Visual Arts Association in which she was a member.

Ms. Pierce relocated from Austin to San Diego, California in 2014 and opened a studio gallery in Arts District Liberty Station. She continued her work on the series, “Code, Defied”. She is now selling her work internationally.

Ms. Pierce is honored to have one of her pieces in the permanent collection of The Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin, and has been awarded several Special Projects grants in Austin and San Diego to expand her work.