Artwork copyright Leon Finley. Photo courtesy of the artist, 2023.

The Convening, 2018

Leon Finley
(American, born 1987)

Location: Kessler Center, Puyallup

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

The Convening by Leon Finley was created while he was an artist in residence at Oxbow in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood during COVID in January 2021. In his own words: "I played with objects and energies to create gatherings of beings of all kinds within the space of Oxbow. I invited guests to participate in The Convening with their presence or by offering songs, movement, prayers, play, magic, writing, etc. to the space and the objects in it. It was a wonderful experience and I hope The Convening brought joy and connection to a time when these things are so vital.

This artwork is part of a curated collection by Lucile Chich in October 2023 for the Kessler Center, in Puyallup, Western Washington. The collection is based on joy, color, and the inclusion of a marginalized population within the arts community. It was critical to the local Art Selection Committee that the collection celebrate artists who are experiencing disability. This could be physical, neurological, or intellectual. They also wanted the see artists who use the transformative powers of artmaking to transcend, to heal, to rejoice.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Puyallup School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Leon Finley is an inter-disciplinary artist and Tarot and Akashic Records reader. He was born in Seattle—the traditional land of the Coast Salish Peoples past and present including the Duwamish—where he continues to live and work. In his own words, "my work moves among performance, sculpture, drawing, sewing, writing, and many places in between. I create art from my experience having a physical and spiritual body... I work within a framework that understands that bodies are vibrating, that matter is not solid but is in fact, movable, permeable and changeable. My work in all realms is about supporting the joy, connection, and healing of myself and others."

Finley received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Cooper Union School of Art in New York City in 2009 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the Yale School of Art in Connecticut in 2012.