Anna de Leon

ON SEVENTH HEAVEN

Anna de Leon takes time to appreciate the moment

 January 21, 2019 / C-3 

 Text by HANNAH JO UY 

“It’s like a painting, signed by God,” Anna de Leon gushed, describing the spectacular view she enjoys from the apartment she has re­cently moved into. This, incidentally, became the catalyst for “Heaven on the 7th Floor,” her most recent show at Galerie Francesca. 

“It’s been a very hard, messy, and tiring transition,” she says, on the move to her new home, perched on top of a hill, sharing that the view from her apartment has instilled in her such reverence for God’s creation, being reminded of the beauty that ex­ists if one takes the time to appreci­ate the moment. “When I wake up, I see the sunrise in my bedroom and sunset in my living room,” she says. “[It’s] pure joy and gratitude. I am so grateful that God made this happen. He gave me this beautiful view to see every day.” 

Dialing in on the spectrum of emo­tions evoked by the rich hues signaling dusk and dawn, De Leon also reflects upon her dreams of flying, a recur­ring one she has had since her teen­age years. This was expressed in her latest collection, which highlighted her technical command over a wide range of materials that conform to her unique aesthetic. “I love infusing other materials into my paintings,” she admits. “[I love] giving myself problems to solve, like how to put to­gether things such as metals, leather, etc., which add character to my paint­ings and complete my concept.” 

Finding her bliss in creating with her hands, she says that for future proj­ects, she aims to work on sculptural projects and installations for buildings. She finds joy in doing functional art, as evident in the Embrace II loveseat in the collection, which also serves as a strong example of her creative pro­cess. It requires a more deliberate ap­proach, depending on the nature of the materials. First contemplating a con­cept, she incubates an initial seed to see how it can be executed in the best way possible, pouring over the ideal materials that will help her actualize this vision. 

Her metal pieces, she says, have to be treated properly to give off the texture that mimics natural rust and aging. Similarly, De Leon stresses that a lot of foresight is required to maintain the natural look of narra ma­terials, often requiring wax to preserve it. Logistics is also another issue that she deals with, as seen in the modu­lar quality of the Embrace II loveseat, which she allows to be knocked-down for easier handling. 

The spontaneity, De Leon says, happens in the latter stages when she is painting. “I welcome accidents when rendering because, most of the time, it comes out nicer,” she explains. “Sometimes, I discover other materi­als while I am already at it, like differ­ent kinds of glue or screws.” 

Completing her eighth solo exhi­bition to date, De Leon believes that while her process of rendering has softened over the years, the materi­als she uses have grown heavier and bigger, pointing to her metal triptychs as an example. But her romantic and whimsical nature remains very much palpable, with the recent collection still revolving around love. 

Reveling in the joys of human re­lationship and connection is not only something that De Leon discusses, it is also something she practices, being actively involved in group shows and fellowships with artist peers. 

“It gives you a sense of belonging,” she says. “It’s nice to belong to a [group] of great artists. It helps and challenges you. We learn and share knowledge. It’s also a friendly, artsy compe­tition to up your game. It makes you alive.” The value of group shows and collabora­tions only serves to help artists grow, she adds, pushing them beyond their comfort zone, encouraging interaction with kin­dred spirits and dis­tinguished minds. 

But it is important to not lose track of her calling, which she de­scribes as a mission “to create artworks from my heart.” In response to her call­ing, De Leon offers her truth—a truth expressed in a way that revives materi­als often discarded and forgotten, imbu­ing them with new life and character in her own unique way. This is a process she deeply enjoys. 

“I wish that everyone who sees it shares my feelings and the emotions that I went through in creating it,” she says, adding that any recognition follow­ing this connection is simply a bonus.