Commissions Open!
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THEME OF THE XV FLORENCE BIENNALE (18-26 OCTOBER 2025)
THE SUBLIME ESSENCE OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS
Concepts of Dualism and Unity in Contemporary Art and Design
The theme of the 15th edition of the Florence Biennale, which will be held from 18 to 26 October 2025, is dedicated to the primordial, eternal union between light and darkness, which has always been at the centre of artistic, as well as scientific, philosophical and literary research. Object of study and reflection by many of the most brilliant minds in the history of humanity, from Heraclitus, Pythagoras and Aristotle to Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei, up to Newton, Maxwell and Einstein, light has always represented not only a physical phenomenon, but also a concept which is at the basis of life itself and which connects the macrocosm and the microcosm, pushing us to meditate on the connections between what happens in our limited and fragile terrestrial world and what is inherent in the immensity of universe. Architectural works of ancient civilizations, such as Stonehenge, the Mayan temples and the pyramids of Giza, have demonstrated the attention and devotion of our ancestors towards sunlight for a long time, and the latter – which represents the most obvious and tangible manifestation of the luminous phenomena on our planet – has continued to be the focus of artists, architects, scientists and writers in all subsequent civilizations and in all known eras.
I have been accepted to the Florence Biennale!
The Florence Biennale, held in Florence, Italy, is a premier international event that celebrates contemporary art from around the world. Here’s a link to the Florence Biennale website
https://www.florencebiennale.org/en/. It offers a unique platform for artists to showcase their work, engage with global audiences, and network with industry professionals. This proposal outlines the need for financial support to enable me to attend and exhibit at the 2025 Florence Biennale. As an artist based in Melbourne, Australia, my work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and has garnered critical acclaim for its innovation and impact. Pushing for social change, empathy and kindness.
Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible through the Australian Cultural Fund!
Artist Profile
Bio
Leesa is a figurative artist who writes when the grief is too overwhelming to paint and paints when she can’t find the words, pouring her emotions onto the canvas. Art has been her therapy and catharsis through the living nightmare of child loss, painting and writing her journey through trauma to find the spiritual feminine.
Drawing portraits since her teens, Leesa decided to follow her passion for art and fashion and use real faces as her canvas, winning Hair and Makeup Artist of the Year 2003. Having worked on many famous faces and in fashion, television and bridal, she started painting faces on canvas in 2016 to deal with the death of her beautiful daughter Star Dawn.
Some highlights of Leesa’s career are an artist residency at Chateau Orquaveaux, France, in 2019. Living at the chateau for four weeks with artists from around the world was a dream come true and an experience she will never forget. Leesa has also just returned from Quarantine - an artist mentorship program in Menorca, Spain. Chosen along with other high calibre artist from across the globe she accepted this challenge wholeheartedly, returning with a new found focus and drive.
Obtaining her Master of Fine Arts degree in 2021, Leesa pushed the boundaries of her practice exploring different techniques and mediums. Inspired by fashion, mythology, and the occult, Leesa purposely sources materials such as textiles, fashion magazines and photographs to explore how society measures gender, ideas of power and notions of beauty. Similarly, she uses text as a reminder of how the spoken word can propel change for future generations.
Leesa aims to empower the intersectional feminine identity by painting women who inspire, adorning them with gems, butterflies and flowers, symbolic of the fraught relationship women have to beauty, innocence, protection and patriarchy. “Importantly I use them as separate components that may stand on their own or to an idea of interconnectedness, overlapping identities and intersectionality. My objective being to arrange them to form a harmonious artwork that links all of these elements together.”
She is also on the board of RedWest Creative Co-op, which is extremely rewarding and provide many opportunities to learn skills that will help her career as an artist.
Leesa has participated in several group exhibitions, finally having her first solo show in 2021 at BlackCat Gallery. Leesa’s intention has always been to capture the likeness of her subjects - Painting faces, either on canvas or in the flesh, will always be a constant source of pleasure and her true passion.
CV
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
2021 - Obtained Master of Fine Arts Degree at RMIT Melbourne
2019 - I am an Artist at Arts Assist South Melbourne
2017 - Oils one on one with Caroline Esbenshade
2016 - Acrylics Workshop with Caroline Esbenshade
- Life Drawing Classes at Saltwater Community Centre
2014 - Diploma of Cosmetic Tattooing
2003 - Certificate II in Makeup Artistry
- Certificate in Dress Style Hair
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2023 - Quarantine Menorca Spain Mentorship with Henrik Uldalen 17 - 23 April
2021 - Co-curate, organise and promote RedWest $50-$500 group exhibition
2020 - Curate, organise and promote RedWest Artist Aid Bushfire Relief Art Auction/Exhibition 2019 - Voted as Vice President for Red West Creative Cooperative
- Co-curate, organise and promote RedWest PrimoRed group exhibition
- Artist in Residence at Chateau Orquevaux France 2nd to 30th May
EXHIBITIONS
2024 - Birth & Rebirth Untether Gallery Geelong September
- Mask Artemisia Gallery, Windsor August 23rd - 31st
2022 - HOME West Group Exhibition
2021 - RMIT Alumni Group Exhibition
2021 - RedWest PrimoRed 2 Group Exhibition 2nd - 23rd July at C & H Gallery, Melbourne
- Solo Exhibition ‘The Seven (not so) Deadly Sins’ at Black Cat Gallery 18th - 28th February
- RedWest Group Exhibition $50-$500 at Sunshine Art Space
2019 - NOW, WEST Group Exhibition 15th - 23rd November Longspace Gallery
- - RedWest PrimoRed Group Exhibition 8th Nov - 7th Dec C&H Gallery
- All The Things That Remain Group Exhibition September NOIR Darkroom
2016 - Throw Up Your Art Exhibition- Colourbox Studios
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2023 - Industry Connections Program
2019 - Shortlisted in the Wyndham Art Prize
2018 - Denis Diderot (A-i-R) Grant Artist in Residence at Chateau Orquevaux France May 2019
- Community Pathways Scholarship Grant from Wyndham City Council
2003 - Hair and Makeup Artist of the Year
PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS
2021 - Star Weekly for first solo exhibition at BlackCat Gallery
2020 - Star Weekly for RedWest Artist Aid Bushfire Relief Art Auction/Exhibition
2019 - Star Weekly for primoRed group exhibition
2018 - Wyndham Star Weekly for Chateau Orquevaux
- Article and video in Our Voice - Mercy Health Newsletter
2017 - Artworks published on Galphia online gallery www.galphia.com
- Published interview and art in Not Random Art Magazine
- RED Redux installation art for Wyndham City “Heart of Armour.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
2019 - MAVA Collective
2018 - RedWest Creative Co-op
- NAVA (National Association for Visual Arts)
Hair and Makeup
Media Attention
Articles and Interviews
Contact
Please get in touch for more information about Leesa Gray-Pitt, to discuss commissions, possible collaborations, or for any inquiries regarding artwork or hair and makeup.
0408257304
