Leaf Silver (they/them) is a
Chicago-based multidisciplinary artist from Vermont. They received a BFA degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), graduating in the spring of 2020. While their primary joy in life is making sculptural, domestic art objects, they also design squarespace websites for artists and small businesses. Leaf has exhibited work at Mana Contemporary, LVL3 gallery, ADDS DONNA, SITE galleries, the Sullivan gallery and Woman Made Gallery and Baby Blue Gallery at Mana Contemporary.
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Artist Statement
At my grandparents house there is a little side table with many small drawers. We call it “the little things drawer.” Most of the objects are elderly small toys: tin cars with squeaky wheels, bouncy balls, archaic figurines, animals, oddball hardware and little rubber and plastic shapes. Everything has its place. My favorite pastime was searching through the drawers, which smelled of oxidized metal and old rubber, and sorting and organizing the objects within.
My art is grounded in tactile experiences; seeking sensations of discovery and rediscovery through sculpture, craftsmanship, design and cooking. Food and the act of cooking and eating are fundamental and powerful experiences. It is comforting, a gesture of care for others and a practice of care for myself. My food is best consumed with friends and my objects are the tools that create and provide the backdrop for a simple meal.
As a maker and master of materials including wood, ceramics, fabric, and food, I mediate the relationship between my own cultural history and how the objects I make take on that history. I employ these sentiments in the objects I create, which seek connection with others. My objects straddle the line between function and decoration, sustaining a twisting, overlapping relationship between the two.