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Currently, you can find Suggs’ work in a show at the LIGHT: Art + Design gallery in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She’ll also have a piece at InLight this year in Scott’s Addition. (Photo by Soleil Ananda Konkel)
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Suggs curated "Volume," the Quirk Gallery exhibit currently on view until Nov. 13. Her thoughtful use of pink, white and gray in her work makes her a natural fit for the cotton candy color-inspired art gallery. (Photo by Taylor Dabney)
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“While I may not overtly talk about it or it may not be apparent in my work, I definitely think fashion influences my use of texture, color and layering. I love clean lines and architectural pieces, and that goes for both my art and my style.” (Photo courtesy Mist Gallery)
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"Reticulating Lines II": Suggs received her BFA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 2003 and went on to earn her MFA at VCU in Craft and Material Studies in 2015. She also attributes a lot of her artistic growth to Dieu Donné, a paper making facility in New York City, and to summer classes at Penland School of Crafts in the mountains of North Carolina. (Photo by Taylor Dabney)
Minimalism is in. In both art and style, people are responding to clean lines, strong shapes and pared-down color palettes, and Leigh Suggs is currently slaying in both departments. The local artist’s work is centered around “process, color and form with elements of craft, painting and sculpture,” which is also exactly how she approaches her personal style. I chatted with her about her art, her style and how her mom influenced both.
Richmond magazine: You’re an artist, so you’re obviously attuned to aesthetics — does this interest in the visual extend to fashion and style for you?
Leigh Suggs: I look at fashion a lot — I usually watch runway shows from fashion week, read reviews and fashion publications. It’s something I’ve always been interested in, even as a kid. If I could have a second dream job (because I have my first — being an artist), I would be a buyer or stylist. How great would it be to create a vision through clothes!
RM: You describe your art as "deceptively simple and minimalistic" — would you say you're a minimalist when it comes to your style as well?
LS: Since I don’t have an endless budget to stock my closet full of Haider Ackermann, Rick Owens, Alexander McQueen, Givenchy and Iris van Herpen, I definitely tend to stick to a minimalist wardrobe. Mostly grays, blacks and whites, jeans, T-shirts, sweaters, simple shoes. I have about six chambray shirts that are always on rotation, a pair of black jeans and classic T-shirts.
RM: Is there someone in particular you find particularly inspiring when it comes to creating a minimalist wardrobe?
LS: I have to give credit to my mother here. She always wore chambray shirts (she had several), striped T-shirts and jeans. She always had on something that was blue and lots of jewelry and big earrings. My sister and I used to always poke fun [at] her, but I think my mom had it right all along. Being comfortable in [one's] clothes is such an important part of being comfortable with your confidence.
RM: Aside from your formal education, what or who has made the biggest impact on you artistically?
LS: Again, I’d have to say my biggest influence was my mother, who is a retired art professor. She taught at Appalachian State University for over 35 years and has supported and encouraged me throughout my own journey.
RM: Who else is inspiring you right now, artistically?
LS: Right now, I am obsessed with Agnes Martin and Carmen Herrera. Color, grids and stripes — I can’t get enough of it. But I’m also completely inspired by these female artists who dedicated themselves to their art and never stopped.
RM: Where do you like to go in Richmond if you’re looking for fresh ideas? Are there any places that inspire you?
LS: I usually get outside — go exercise, go to the river, just get out of my studio. But my biggest help is the art community here in Richmond — calling on one of my friends to come into my studio to help push me and my thoughts and ask the right questions to get me out of a slump.
