The simple beauty of Paper

Everything I make originates with paper. Paper embodies attributes that have been extremely important in my life: adaptability and transformation, both recurring themes in my work since I was young. One of my first childhood memories was being terrified by a Mister Potato Head toy, which began as an innocuous plastic potato and slowly morphed into a humanoid monster. That kind of enigmatic power fascinates me. The simplicity and infinite possibility of paper provides elegant opportunities to explore transformation. Water and glue are the only requirements. You can tear things up and put them back together. You can communicate ideas using the most basic marks. Also, paper is so easily accessible- you can find it in every trashcan, and once upon a time, these objects were trees. What a miracle.

Leslie Lanxinger is a multimedia artist. Her subject matter is inspired by feminism and narrative referencing anthropomorphism, literature, and theatrics such as burlesque, vaudeville, and commedia dell’arte.

Lanxinger received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York and BFA from the Atlanta College of Art. Select residencies and awards include the Franklin Furnace Award, the Brooklyn Arts Council, and the San Francisco Center for Cultural Innovation; The Atlantic Center for the Arts, Arteles Creative Center in Haukijärvi Finland, and the Brand Associate Patron Award. She lives and works in Los Angeles.