Leevar is a 23-year-old South African artist who has recently relocated to London. Last month, his collection of large-scale paintings was exhibited at My Place in Soho, marking his inaugural solo exhibition.
Leevar employs a technique in which uses his hands to smudge and blur at the paint on his canvas, guided solely by instinct. This abstract documentation allows him to preserve what otherwise would’ve been ephemeral experiences, capturing moments in time and conveying his emotional state during those instances. Through the articulation of his emotions, the paint engenders its own body, becoming a tangible manifestation of the non-physical. This is further echoed in the gestural quality of the paint, reinforcing the physicality of his emotional expression.
His latest collection reflects his arrival to London, encapsulating both the emotional turbulence and triumph of this transition: “although I’ve struggled a lot here, I feel that the struggle has been good for me”. Each painting serves as a visual roadmap, articulating his journey and the position he currently occupies.
Hi Leevar! Can you give us a bit of background about yourself please?
I was born in London but shortly after my family moved to South Africa. My dad is South African so I guess at the time it seemed like a good idea. I lived there for less than a decade but found that I was still immersed in a different culture and lifestyle which was good for me while growing up. I always enjoyed drawing but I never thought about being an artist until I was around the age of 18. I only moved back to London about a year ago and although I’ve struggled a lot here, I feel that the struggle has been good for me. It’s made me appreciate things more.
What was your trajectory into the art world like?
I didn’t attend an art school or even study art outside of mandatory classes that kids have at school. During that time, I felt that anything I did wasn’t “correct” or in line with how art is presented at that level of education. I’ve always been creative though and I’m always thinking about creating work. All day, every day, I’m looking at colours when I’m out. I’m a lot more of a thinker to be honest. In my head I visualise ideas for paintings but I barely sketch out ideas. When it comes to capturing something in my work I just paint what I’m feeling and depending on that I see different ideas of what I could paint.
Who and what inspires your creative practice?
My love for art really started when I learnt about Jean-Michel Basquiat. I love everything he did: the way he thought and talked about things, his work ethic and mystery. When I’m painting, I’m in complete silence. I like to be in the present entirely and put out how I’m feeling at that very moment in time. That’s what I love about painting, I can show you how I was feeling at that very moment. I especially love that someone else looking at my work will be feeling something completely different to what I was.
‘Jet fuel’ is unapologetically charged by its bold colour palette and visceral lexicon. From a viewing experience, this piece feels aggressively passionate and cathartic. Does this parallel anything that you were experiencing at the time?
You’re right, this work was fuelled by anger. At that moment, I was going through a lot and I don’t think that I had really come to terms with it yet. Deep down, I knew then that things would be getting better but I was angry for sure, but that’s what is beautiful about it. Look at my pain, you know? This is it, this is me. It’s an evil piece but it has an energy of coming out of the darkness too and for me that is where the beauty lies.
In your work ‘Once bloomed, now dead’ There are 44 black marks, seemingly representing withered plucked flower heads.
There initially appears to be a structure to them which feels repetitive and obsessive but as they progress they become disorganised and in turn lose their form. What do these ‘flowers’ represent and how did you intend for them to interact with the blue markings in the backdrop?
The idea was focused on an overview of flowers that are now dead. The colour blue represents water, but only a few have water on them while the rest do not. This is just life – the idea came from just that. Some people get the water and some don’t. Some people get opportunities while some people don’t.
This didn’t derive from my personal life, I was stepping out and taking this from a worldwide sense. Some of us are lucky and some of us are unfortunately not. I think that there is something quite powerful looking at this piece knowing the intention behind it and I hope others feel this also.
‘Colourless process of thought’ stands out in this collection for its lighter palette which reflects the delicacy of its forms and marks. The trickling use of red however alludes to a quiet sense of danger or pain. Please can you talk us through that process of thought?
I wanted ‘Colourless process of thought’ to have a kind of mystery to it and in turn be hard to read as a viewer. The hints of red with beige throughout the piece does feel quite aggressive and ties in nicely with the feelings and motifs throughout my collection. However, I wanted this work to stare at you and not be as “beautiful” as some other pieces in this collection. Although there was no specific meaning, I do feel that I’ve achieved a reaction from the audience that was intended. I was intrigued by how it would be received and interestingly it seems to be a lot of people’s favourite. Perhaps there is something meditative in sitting with my colourless thoughts.
Congratulations on your debut solo art exhibition in Soho! How did it feel to finally share your art physically with the world?
Thank you so much, having people come to the exhibition was such an eye-opener. Meeting new people and them seeing my work in person was so magical but equally terrifying. Having people viewing and judging your pieces in person is incredibly different to them interacting with my body of work on Instagram. It sounds obvious but actually experiencing it first hand is so nerve wracking. Regardless, I am so excited for the next exhibition and for everyone to experience the new collection physically again. I feel like it’s up from here.
Generally, what did you hope to achieve with this collection of work?
With this collection, I simply wanted the audience to experience raw emotion – whatever that may be for the individual. I wanted these pieces to bring them nostalgia, love, anger, sadness, and even happiness.
What made you want to work within the certain scale of 130 x 90cm on canvas and use acrylic paint as the medium?
Honestly, the measurements of the canvas weren’t intentional, although I liked working to this scale. The canvases that I found were the best paint on and I loved the look of two canvases put together to create one large one. I don’t think this is something that I’ll be revisiting in later work but I definitely enjoyed doing it in this way for this collection. I found that acrylic paint worked best for me as I paint with my hands. Acrylic gave me great textures on the canvas that I didn’t find with other paints. Although, I’m now starting to experiment more with oil and for my next collection you will see a lot of oil paint being used. I’ll definitely still be using acrylic paint for sure too.
What can we expect to see from you next, Leevar?
I’m currently working on a few things and making a more solid plan for the second exhibition. As I mentioned, the new collection is experimental for me, I’ll also be working with spray paint. I feel that the next collection is going to be my best work and I’m just keen for people to see it. I know for sure that I don’t want to be quiet, and I’m gonna make sure that myself and my work speaks loudly, it’s bold, in your face – you will hear and see me.
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Words: Georgia Mann