Kaleidoscopic Realms

Leslie Thompson has been selected as one of eight contemporary artists to feature in Kaleidoscopic Realms, an installation of artworks and film revealing a colourful insight into intuitive mark-marking in its many forms.

The featured artists have all travelled different paths to firmly ground themselves within their art practice, each with a distinctive style. A clear sense of storytelling and play often features, whilst others ooze the pure joy of mark-making and material investigations. Ceramics, embroidery, pen drawings, and large-scale painted canvases invite closer viewing, along with an impressive installation of bold, wrapped sculptures.

Leslie is showing a selection of work including Animals from Memory (on loan from the Government Art Collection, who acquired the piece in 2022), a selection of new badge works produced this year, three pieces from Leslie’s coronation commission; Many of the TV Screens Everywhere, and The Animals of London Zoo, an unfinished and ongoing piece Leslie will work on during the launch.

Co-curated by Jennifer Gilbert of Jennifer Lauren Gallery and artist Christopher Samuel, the exhibition runs alongside a programme of workshops, talks and live events exploring who gets to be an artist, and who gets to be seen in galleries and why? Kaleidoscopic Realms is designed to challenge preconceived ideas, and to stimulate conversation and interaction. This exhibition not only allows the observer to appreciate the artwork but also presents a series of films revealing the artists in action, divulging more about their processes and motives.

The eight exhibiting artists are Siddharth Gadiyar, James Gladwell, Thompson Hall, Richard Hunt, Nnena Kalu, Cameron Morgan, Michelle Roberts, and Leslie Thompson. Each of these artists work out of studios across the UK who support not only these artists, but many other incredible talents: ActionSpace, Barrington Farm, Project Ability, Project Art Works, Shadowlight Artists, and Venture Arts.