List of Works
Flight of Fancy 2012, Ige Sumi ink and watercolour pencil on paper, framed, 76 56 cm. Collection of Bernadette
Howlett
Just Peachy 2020, mixed media on paper, framed, 80 72 cm
Leonie & Rick Wood, Enrapt 2005, decorated stoneware, 55 38 cm. Collection of Judi Wynne
Leonie & Rick Wood, Foreign Bodies 2007, decorated stoneware, 60 x 38 cm
Left Alone 2019, artist pen on paper, framed, 44.5 34.3 cm
Leonie & Rick Wood, Melancholia 2008, decorated stoneware, 22 24.5 cm
Melancholia 2008, decorated stoneware, 22 24.5 cm
Melancholia 1 2008, drypoint etching, framed, 30.5 34.5 cm. Collection of Melissa Broadhurst
Muser 2020, mixed media on paper, framed, 55 x 90 cm
Nude Study 1995, pencil and watercolour on paper, 79 x 56 cm
Nude Study 1995, pencil on paper, 84 x 57.5 cm
Nude Study 2017, mixed media on paper, 84.5 56.5 cm
Nude Study 4 2020, mixed media on paper, 75 x 52 cm
Nude Study 1995, pencil on paper, 79 50 cm
Repose 2020, artist pen on paper, framed, 50 41 cm. Collection of Lauren Turton
Unravelled 2012, Sumi ink and watercolour pencil on paper, framed, 70 56 cm. Collection of Rob Wingrove
Up the Wall 2019, charcoal on paper, framed, 88.5 x 57 cm
Leonie Wood: LIFE LINES
27 November 2020 – 7 February 2021
The female form has long been portrayed and represented in various art forms throughout history; a staple muse, traditionally curated through the lens of the clouded and objectifying male gaze, often in an overtly vulnerable or sexualised manner.
force.
Mackay based artist Leonie Wood’s dedication to illustrating the female figure in a natural and honest light, surpasses this idealised male dominated barrier; reframing, recontextualising, and empowering this tired and troped representation in art. When portrayed through the nuanced empathetic female gaze, a woman’s body is uniquely determined, exuding an authentic, sensual energy that comes as a welcomed breath of fresh air.
It was in the 1990s that Wood requested from her husband ‘walls of clay as a canvas’ for her life drawings, resulting in a successful collaborative process which they continued for many years. Their first collaborative exhibition was in 1993, titled, By-Association at Central Gallery in Mackay, and the duo showed again in 2001, in a joint exhibition at Mackay’s Conservatorium on Music, titled, In the Arms of Morpheus They also undertook several major public art commissions, including the Mackay Entertainment Centre, North Mackay City Library, and the Art Built-In Commission for the four new Court Rooms of the Mackay Courthouse Redevelopment, 2003-4.
Wood draws heavily on her relationship with the curvilinear line of the contoured female form, showcasing works that skilfully weave the contrasting strength and softness of the feminine spirit. Wood’s life drawings in ink, pen, charcoal, and graphite, and her hand drawn imagery on ceramics, produced in collaboration with her late husband, renowned North Queensland ceramicist, Rick Wood, perfectly illustrate her ability to harness this dynamic and frenetic
Wood currently facilitates and participates in weekly community life drawing classes in Mackay, and in doing so, has prolifically accumulated hundreds of works on paper. Wood’s dedication to her own artistic studies, as well as her passion for artistic patronage, is inspiring. Her arts practice, especially her collaborative ceramic work, is ultimately overdue for recognition, and it is from this exhibition that hope she receives.
Publisher
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
Townsville City Council
PO Box 1268
Townsville City, Queensland, 4810 galleries@townsville.qld.gov.au
©Galleries, Townsville City Council, and respective artists and authors, 2020
ISBN 978-0-949461-44-5
Published on the occasion of the exhibition Life Lines
Artist Leonie Wood
Publication and Design Development
Nicole Thompson and Carly Sheil
Contributing Author
Lucy Belle Tesoriero
Artwork documentation
Through The Looking Glass Studios
Townsville City Galleries
Acknowledgement of Country
Townsville City Council acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Townsville the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun; and Bindal people. We pay our respects to their cultures, their ancestors and their Elders – past and present –and all future generations
Image front cover:
Repose 2020, artist pen on paper, framed, 50 x 41 cm. Collection of Lauren Turton
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
Cnr Denham and Flinders St
Townsville QLD 4810
Tue Fri 10am – 3pm
Sun 10am 1pm
(07) 4727 9011 galleries@townsville.qld.gov.au whatson.townsville.qld.gov.au
Townsville City Galleries TownsvilleCityGalleries
Left Alone 2019, artist pen on paper, framed, 44.5 34.3 cm
Lucy Belle Tesoriero
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
Nude Study 2017, mixed media on paper, 84.5 56.5 cm Leonie & Rick Wood, Enrapt 2005, decorated stoneware, 55 38 cm. Collection of Judi Wynne
