The Curator's Eye

This New American Life | Lena Leitzke, painter

selected by Stevie Joe Setum, Dealer, Martin Lawrence Galleries

Sunset, acrylic, 40 x 40 inches

Lena Leitzke is a self-taught artist, originally from the Ukraine. She has lived, worked and painted for the last eight years in Kirkland. She knew the Eastside was the place for her from the moment she got off the plane, because people smiled at her and she felt no one judged her. It’s funny, because that’s what caught my attention the first time I saw her work on one of my various tours of the galleries in downtown Kirkland. I felt a freedom in her work — a certain joie de vivre.

Lena works in several different styles — miniatures, abstract, portraits — which is nice. In a way, her work reminds me of the miniature surrealistic work of Fanny Brennan, the whimsical East Coast artist who allegedly taught Picasso how to play Chinese checkers. Lena’s paintings are definitely influenced by the Hudson River School of painters. But the details, the color combinations — and the skies — they all reminded me of Fanny’s work. She hadn’t heard of Fanny, but when I showed her some of Fanny’s work, she loved it, of course.

— Stevie Joe Setum