Annie Leist is an artist currently living and working in Queens. Her latest work can be seen in Among Verticals, a solo exhibition exploring the constructed spaces and vernacular architecture of New York City.
Among Verticals
November 19, 2023 – February 16, 2024
Union Gallery, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Opening Reception:
Sunday, November 19
3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Verbal Description Tour:
For people who are blind or have low vision and their guests
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Sign up requested for this artist-led tour (No RSVP needed for reception itself)
Union Gallery
Union Building (Main Floor), Wagner College
One Campus Road
Staten Island, NY 10301
Gallery Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. daily when campus is open
Directions to Wagner College
NOTE: A free shuttle runs approximately every 30 minutes from the ferry terminal to Wagner College. Follow signs to Taxis to find the shuttle. Because of construction, the shuttle currently picks up across the street from the taxi stand and H&M.
The dreamlike compositions of Leist’s new series of large-scale oil paintings invite us in. We are guided through intimations of architectural structures, colored light billowing, collapsing spaces near and far. Enveloped in a diffuse atmosphere, the distinction between inside and outside blurs, most notably in the revolving door series. These works, like all pieces in the show, use Leist’s daily lived experience as a starting point to explore the fragmented, ambiguous nature of cityspace. Leist has very low vision, making the act of navigating the city a unique practical and visual adventure. In this work, she shares this private experience with us all, making the prospect of wayfinding and exploration one we can all appreciate for both its challenges and its beauty. While addressing the interaction of space and sight, her work raises larger questions of how we each find our way in this labyrinthine city, and how that is influenced by our own distinct visual perception.
The exhibition title, Among Verticals, is a nod to Mme Kupka among Verticals (1910-11), a painting by František Kupka, beloved by both Leist and curator Pamela Lawton. For Leist, the work resonates with how she experiences New York CIty: the juxtaposition of architecture’s abstractions and the people moving through the spaces they create.
Annie Leist was born in North Carolina and lives in New York City. She studied at Wake Forest University, Trinity College Dublin, and Rutgers. Her work is in collections in the US and abroad.
Annie Leist 