
Genevieve Leavold
Born: 1980
Hometown: Frome
Based in: Belgrade
Born: 1980
Hometown: Frome
Based in: Belgrade
Genevieve Leavold is a British abstract painter with a studio in Belgrade, Serbia. Her work is characterised by soft, sweeping brushwork and a rich, natural palette. She often works into dark backgrounds giving her paintings a luminous quality. Leavold trained in theatre design and has maintained a love of performance, in particular dance. She often starts a canvas working on the floor and moving around the image as she paints, this very physical approach to painting gives her work a soft and flowing rhythm. Much of her work explores themes of identity and our relationship to nature. She has a long held curiosity about how we form our understanding of the self and uses the language of abstract painting to express what she feels cannot be said in words.
Genevieve Leavold has exhibited widely in Europe, the US and UK and has work in held in private and corporate collections worldwide
What inspires you?
I am very inspired by movement, the effect of energy on matter and the forms is creates, I also love to dance and watch dance and I have a deep and longstanding interest in eastern philosophy and the nature of self.
Describe your creative process.
I approach each canvas from a place of curiosity, I work in series and once an idea starts to take shape each painting is linked to this theme but created in a spontaneous manner.
What are 3 words that best describe your work?
Calm Meditative Painting
Who are some artists that have influenced your work?
Mira Schendel's ability to translate joy in her work, the brushwork of Diego Valasquez and the singular approach to the meaning of art that Yayoi Kusamas work embodies.
What is the most important tool when creating your work?
My most important tools are my big wide brushes.
What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
The best advice I was ever given was to stay curious.
Where do you go for inspiration?
I walk when I need inspiration and I listen to lectures by Alan Watts