About
Brooke Leland received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020. She now lives in Milwaukee and is pursuing a Master’s in Art Therapy.
Why Artéyrie?
art + artery + eyrie
Artéyrie is a personal philosophy. It brings together the concepts of the heart, arteries and veins which pump blood through our body, and the aerial perspective of a nest (or eyrie) hidden high in the tree tops.
In my artwork, I investigate connections between us and our loved ones, the earth, and ourselves. As an observer of the themes, symbols, storylines, and societal problems repeated over time, I bring light to the realties, both good and bad, hidden beneath the surface.
Artist Statement
Brooke Leland’s paintings and drawings use natural forms to describe environmental, emotional, social and spiritual issues. Connections are woven between our human anatomy and that of natural environments continuously shifting and readapting around us. Her artwork brings to the forefront the idea that we inhabit perpetually decaying bodies, while investigating the connection between nature’s lifecycles and those of our own. She references historical, botanical, entomological, and anatomical scientific illustration to make these delicate connections.
The environments we inhabit, interpersonal relationships we keep, and our physical and mental health are imbued in ethereal figures clothed in biological metaphor, bringing light to the ecosystems of humanity's inner worlds. Neuron flowers, metamorphosis, and birds-nest hearts are the symbolic adornments from our physical world to describe invisible, but real worlds within. They show the present realities that escape the eye, but lie just beneath the surface.