Brekelle Lavee' Long, owner of Flower and Hewes/Art Vault Unlimited in Malibu, described Leifert as “truly a living artist.” With each new collection, Long said, “you get to know her life and her evolution as an artist. In her work, you see the focus, and the freedom and movement of body, mind and soul. To experience Barbi’s work is to have a conversation with the artist: You begin to understand the vision, texture, emotion and lives of the dancers who are telling the story. Like the dancers in her work, Barbi Leifert is going to go the distance as an artist.”
Leifert’s showing of her “Dancer’s Palette” series will be presented by Lanyon 36 Gallery in New York from Sept. 24 to Oct. 24 (see sidebar). At the gallery opening, contemporary dancers Alexandra Kassidis and Sentell McDonald will perform a piece that was choreographed in collaboration with Barbi Leifert. The Art opening will also be the launch of Leifert’s new book “Dancer’s Palette – A Fusion of Paint and Movement.” Gallery Director Sheri Barnes also noted, “When I took Barbi Leifert on board, her show at the Phillips galleries was a sellout.”
Leifert has explored the soul of dance and art in reverse by creating dance inspired by her paintings and paintings inspired by her dance. “The dance and the paintings exist in my subconscious at the same time,” she said. “Before I began the ‘Dancer’s Palette’ series, I had dreams of elaborate, colorful, theatrical choreography staged in full costume.”
No one knows one’s own soul as well as a dancer, except maybe an artist. If dance is ephemeral and purely in the moment, then Leifert’s work captures the artistry of movement-in-the-moment in a way that transcends time and space. “I definitely believe there is a greater power, god or energy,” she said. “I was meant to be here in this lifetime to learn and to evolve. So anything that has happened in the present or the past, or will happen in the future is part of that evolution. I’m a proactive creator because I‘m here to evolve. My spirituality is connected to being here.”
Barbi Leifert’s fall show in New York promises to be a success and a dual achievement – a pas de deux for the pairing of dance and art.
Legendary artist Henri Matisse once said, “Drawing is like an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.” When it comes to marrying dance to art, Leifert has done just that. For more information, please see barbileifert.com.
Joyful Dream
Vibrations
Barbi Leifert’s “Dancer’s Palette” series will be presented by:
Lanyon 36 Gallery
365 W. 36th (between 8th & 9th Ave), New York, NY 10018.
Art Opening, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, Reception, 6-9pm. Exhibition Dates Sept. 24 - Oct. 24.