New Exhibition, In Skin, will deliver a strong message of diversity
Artist Lee LaBier talked with News Break about her preparation for an upcoming new exhibition, In Skin, where she will join with a group of fellow Denver artists to deliver a strong message of diversity.
Since galleries slowly began reopening post-lockdown, LaBier has been run off her feet with projects.
"My life is consumed by art," she told News Break. "There has been a surge in art."
As a multidisciplinary artist, LaBier predominately creates photographic artworks, but also uses video and installation to fully interpret certain projects.
"I define my work as autobiographical confessional art," LaBier told News Break. "Mainly composed of self-portraits, I explore identity, its formation and transitions."
LaBier was interested in photography from childhood, but her future as an artist became clear when she attended college in New York and pursued fine art courses.
...it crystallized what I was meant to be doing, my passion, what fuels my soul, art. Art in all forms, its intricacies and inferences made an enormous impact on me.--LaBier in Voyage Denver
She then continued her art education at the State University of New York at Binghamto, graduating with a Bachelor of Art History and a minor in Business and Theatre.
LaBier's art eventually brought her to Colorado in 2009 where she starting an art concierge business.
She has played a large role in the resurgence of Denver art since the lockdowns. She has been the co-curator of several exhibitions around the Denver, Colorado and wider area, and Director of The Joellyn T. Duesberry Collection, as well as participating in several exhibitions herself.
In Skin exhibition
LaBier knew the In Skin exhibition would suits her artistic style and message perfectly.
"I investigate the self, gender, physical, factual, illusory, artificial, and why certain identities are acquired. A method of introspection, I contrast dark subject matter, such as trauma, veiled by beauty," explains LaBier.
The art collective, Pink Progression, running In Skin was set up in 2017 by founder Anna Kaye as a commemoration of Women's Marches. Since then it has continued to celebrate diversity and collaboration in Denver exhibitions which showcase a variety of concepts, such as human rights, gender identity, and inclusivity.
Pink Progression and LaBier hope In Skin will challenge its audience.
"(It will) showcase the work of Denver figurative artists whose efforts challenge various discriminatory ideas with diverse alternatives about human beingness to the viewing audience, whose efforts challenge discriminatory body “gazes” and bring diverse alternatives to viewers." --Pink Progression, Press Release
In Skin runs from October 21 – November 18, 2021 in the Phillip J Steele Gallery at RMCAD, Denver.
As the art world slowly opens back up we can expect to see a variety of creative work from LaBier.
As she told News Break,
"For me, my creative process takes on many forms. My most recent endeavor is writing my memoir."