CARRIE LEDERER

My daily, up-close encounter with nature is the fifty-foot journey through our family garden, from home to the studio. I am continually captured by nature’s sheer lunatic exuberance—a spectacle of complexity—beautiful, simple, and haphazard.

My painting, sculpture and installation primarily relate to one subject—life forms in nature and our relationship to the natural world. The work depicts turbulent aspects of the garden informed by nature’s riotous colorful beauty, or the deep dark space of our universe filled with a Byzantine intricacy of shape, pattern and constellations.

During this bizarre and surreal moment in time, I’ve noticed an increased cacophony to my work. I’m grateful for the balance found in the triangle of home, studio, and community. But when the pendulum swings, I have tremendous angst around maddening politics, a frightening global pandemic, and California’s raging wildfires. And I miss people. This separation is against our nature; we are meant to be together.

Yet, despite everything, life offers moments of joy. The enforced solitude gives us a quiet opportunity to observe, where I notice the richness of land and landscape with gratitude. And this much I know to be true: Nature, as it must, plunges forward. The petals of my vivid pink zinnias faithfully unfold, weeds take the garden hostage, yellow finches arrive at the feeder, robust volunteer Mexican Sunflowers abound, Italian peppers amuse and charm. I am embraced by my raggedy backyard oasis—a reluctant tranquility—as I worry for our world.

Carrie Lederer is a painter, sculptor and installation artist who exhibits her nature-inspired work across the United States. She has built site-specific installations for Turtle Bay Museum, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, and many others. Lederer is a recipient of the prestigious Fleishhacker Foundation Eureka Award, and she has completed commissions for UCSF Medical Center, Facebook, Art Source and private collections. Her work was profiled in a cover story for MUSES, published by MSU Department of Arts and Letters, and included in New American Paintings. Lederer’s work has been widely reviewed in publications that include ARTnews, San Francisco Chronicle, Diablo Magazine, and SquareCylinder.com. Lederer earned her BFA in Sculpture from Michigan State University. She lives and works in Oakland.