Nea De Leon
Art Fair Philippines
6 – 15 May 2021
Art Underground
814 Balagtas St., Barangay Addition Hills, 1550 Mandaluyong
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Nea De Leon’s works for “Thicket” represents a tangle of lateral branches where the unwary may get lost or emerge into unexpected landscapes. The extended contemplation involved in the artist’s meditative practice of paper quilling is both an antidote to the restlessness in a world of constantly changing images, and a remedy to the disordered mind.
“Thicket”, all at once, is an expression of love, a formal return to working with natural materials, a counterbalance to technological dependence, and an opportunity to connect directly with the human inclination to create by hand. De Leon’s delight of quilling comes from the process of cutting, rolling, folding and configuring paper, transforming this two-dimensional material into three-dimensional works of art. Behind De Leon’s oeuvre lies hours, days or even weeks of skillful labor.
The movement and joyful choreography of the quillings’ entanglement express the variety and excitement of life’s experiences, yet the tangled knots also create obstacles within human relations. “Thicket” is inspired by the strange and unpredictable beauty of nature, including those elements often dismissed as menacing or broken. It explores the cyclical transformation between these conditions, and the interconnection of each element within a complex system.
Influenced by her husband in supporting her art career, Nea De Leon (b. 1989) creates intricate quills which feels like woven into the cloth itself. A graduate of Education major in MAPEH from the University of Rizal system – Angono Campus, Nea De Leon states that she has less to no formal training at all with art but a visually engaging output manifested out of her hobby of making quills and playing with papers.
“Thicket” by Nea De Leon will be featured as part of Art Underground’s exhibition for Art Fair Philippines 2021. Art Fair Philippines 2021 will run from May 6 to 15.
Text by: Grace Ng
