TCC Sculpture Blog: Leigh Pennebaker

Leigh Pennebaker was born and raised in Star, Mississippi. As a child she would create fantastical fashion illustrations. At the age of fourteen she began taking figure drawing classes and a couple of years later was hired to work as a caricature artist in the local mall. Following her college graduation in 2001, Leigh moved to Manhattan to further pursue her love of art and fashion.

Leigh describes her work beautifully in her artist's statement. She says, "My sculpture deals with my lifelong fascination with fashion, women, and beauty. I view my work as three-dimensional caricature through which I channels the spirits of southern belles, divas, vixens, and ingénues. To me, style is about so much more than fabric or fashion. It's about how something is worn, and even more importantly, why. With each wire dress I explore the presence of the female form and gesture without sculpting representations of actual body parts. Instead I allude to physical bearing, spirit, and impulse through sculpted clothing. I use jagged industrial fencing and rebar tie-wire to construct to the sculpture. I am intrigued by the contrast that the materials create with the subject matter. The connotations of entrapment and bondage are juxtaposed with that of iconic feminine beauty. I also rely on the process of meticulously cutting, tying, knotting, weaving and twisting the wire to connect my art to the long tradition of womanly craftsmanship and domestic arts. Ultimately, the sharp linear quality of the wire is perfect for an expression which is both elegant and raw, whimsical yet edgy. "

(http://www.leighpennebaker.com)