Artist Name: Lelia Byron
Residency Dates: September – November 2024
Hometown: New York City
Lives & Works: Madison, WI
URL: leliabyron.com | Instagram: @leliabyron
Education:
Master’s in Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Carnegie Mellon University
Bio/Statement:
Lelia Byron is an interdisciplinary artist who makes paintings, murals, installations, sculptures, and public art projects. Lelia’s projects often include an investigative component and frequently begin with interviewing different people around diverse topics related to human rights, the complexity of communication between individuals, and the creative process. Whether these individuals are lace makers in Rauma, Finland, factory workers fighting for labor rights in New Bedford, MA, women coffee growers in Huila, Colombia, who are leading others in entrepreneurship roles, or residents in a town in rural Portugal interested in learning about plastic and DIY recycling, Lelia seeks to create bridges with others and explore ways to integrate people into the creative process. Then, thinking about ways to translate these interviews and stories into visual narratives that can reach others, Lelia works to create an overarching approach to a topic through a creative or unexpected method that can bring together the local and the global.
Two recent projects include a solo exhibition titled No Such Thing As Strangers, exhibited at the Springfield Museum of Art from 2023-2024, and a solo exhibition titled Anatomy of an Artist and Their Artificial Self, exhibited at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2024. No Such Thing As Strangers is a series of paintings and a sculpture based on conversations with Springfield residents about the concept of “home,” including how a city experiences change, personal narratives, and social issues such as the housing crisis. In Anatomy of an Artist and Their Artificial Self, a series of paintings and an installation examine the relationship between AI technologies and the creative process of an artist and, more broadly, examine a fundamental question: how does a creator respond when they see their own creation come to life and find themselves being shaped by their own creations?
Two projects Lelia is currently working on include a permanent outdoor sculpture for a new UW Health medical facility specializing in adult oncology and women’s complex care and a series of paintings that will be permanently installed at a nonprofit that supports victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Both of these projects will be installed by the fall of 2024.
Support: Lelia Byron’s RU residency is supported by an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Award. Lelia is a three-time recipient of the award (2018, 2022, 2024).
