Since winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2022, Simone Leigh's influence as an artist has been felt worldwide. In her works, the artist primarily explores Black women's search for identity and their educational paths and opportunities. Leigh's oeuvre includes sculpture, video art, installations and performance. The artist has also taught at many important institutions in the USA, including ceramic art at the renowned Rhode Island School of Design. The major Simone Leigh exhibition, the first to reflect the artist's reputation through the sheer scale of the exhibits, was first shown at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston in 2023. From May 26, it will open in parallel at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the California African American Museum, which will show the artworks together. The exhibition offers detailed insights into the artist's work from the last 20 years, including works from her exhibition at the Venice Biennale two years ago. The show closes on January 20, 2025.
Simone Leigh was born in Chicago in 1967 and has Jamaican ancestors. She studied philosophy at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and wanted to work as a social worker. After an internship at the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., she decided to become an artist. She made her breakthrough in the 2010s, winning numerous fellowships and participating in major group exhibitions and biennials, including the 2014 Dakar Biennial, the 2019 Berlin Biennial and the 2019 Whitney Biennial. Since 2021, Leigh has been represented by Matthew Marks Gallery in New York City.
