Interview with Leslie Ditto—Alcove Preview

I met Leslie Ditto last year at Alcove’s War & Peace group show (reviewed here). There was just something raw in her work that had a paradoxically fresh energy. (Ditto has only been painting with oil for a couple years. The timing is interesting since she’s also, incidentally, old enough to have a college-aged son.) As a sort of preview, I decided to contact her with a few questions about Friday’s exhibition, Femme Fatale, featuring Ditto alongside Patrick Fatica, Gilbert Oh, and Dosa Kim.

Q. “Femme fatale” seems to be a favorite concept of yours. How will your latest works approach this subject? What sort of pieces are you bringing to the upcoming Alcove show?

I don’t really see myself as one of those ‘female figurative artists’ (you know the ones) because there is so much more to my paintings. I am compelled to paint females in my paintings because I am a female so I see the world with a feminine perspective.

For this show I have a diverse group of works. I have touched on several different aspects of being a female in today’s world. One of my pieces, Curiosities of the Wise, is a look into how we still seem to be compelled to hang onto our youth even as we turn into older, wiser women. As we grow older, and in our search for knowledge, life takes its toll. Most of us lose that childhood innocence, and to me it seems that the more intelligent we are (or we think we are), the further away from that innocence we go and the more we don’t understand its essence.

Another piece I would like to touch on is titled Bathing with Broken Butterflies. In this piece I am trying to put a beautiful spin on something that is tragic in a sense: unwanted teenage pregnancy. I posed the subject bathing because I feel that is the one place a young woman would find it hard to deny the issue of her condition. In the bath she is faced with her life mistakes as she looks at her changing body. The broken butterflies symbolize the beauty of childbirth versus the unwanted pregnancy

Q. I’m excited to see your work next to Dosa Kim’s. How do you think your work will gel with the other artists in the show?

I have not yet been able to see Dosa’s work in person so it’s kind of hard for me to really say. I trust Chris, the owner of Alcove. He really seems to be able to choose the right artists to put together. I do see common threads in my work and Dosa’s. The pieces of his I have seen dealt with important and serious issues, but he used “cute” figures for his symbolism. I am really excited and can’t wait to see our work side by side.

Q. Since I talked to you last, you’ve shown at other galleries in Atlanta and elsewhere. Specifically, you’ve shown at Definition Gallery in Baltimore. How was that experience, and how were the experiences at other galleries besides Alcove?

Well, I haven’t shown in any other galleries in Atlanta, but I was kind of affiliated with Foundation One because I was showing in their sister gallery up in Baltimore, which is now Definition Gallery. I enjoy showing all over the country because one of my main goals as an artist is to have my work where many people can view it. That includes everyone, not just collectors. I get a lot of emails from people who have seen my work and, even if they can’t afford to purchase it, want to let me know how much it moved them. I really think that is important. Alcove in Atlanta is by far my favorite place to show. I feel that the collectors in Atlanta are so true to themselves and choose to purchase art that they love and that speaks to them.

Q. How do you feel about the general transition of your work? It seems like there have been several transformations. What do you think when you look back and then look forward?

I just started oil painting approximately two years ago, and I have been growing as an artist faster than even I can keep up with it seems. I have been trying to make time to do more sketching and color studies before I do a painting, and I feel that it shows. My pallet is getting a bit lighter. For one thing I found that a lot of people will turn away from a “dark” painting and not give it a chance to see what the artist is saying, and that is not what I want. I want the viewer to feel comfortable enough with the image to explore it and not turn away from it.

Femme Fatale opens tomorrow night Fri. Feb. 6. at Alcove Gallery.

Tags: Alcove Gallery, Dosa Kim, Leslie Ditto, the femme fatale

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 5:30 am and is filed under Columns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.