Meet the Artist

Leah

Probst

Drawing and Painting

“My work explores creative expression by combining figurative painting with texture, movement and experimentation of different mediums. Working mainly in acrylic and oil paint, I convey the meaning, story, and visual inspiration behind each work.My current body of work is based on my recent travels touring with a Cirque Du Soleil show – Corteo. Over the past year I have travelled to cities all across North America and Europe, joining my partner who works on the show. Throughout my adventures, spending every day with the cast and crew, we became what felt like a big circus family. During this time, I develop a fascination with performers, acrobats, and clowns in the contemporary lifestyle of a traditional circus. As I noticed myself becoming accustomed to living in the circus – regularly having meals sitting across the table from a fully-suited clown, I knew I needed to make art about this before it became so normal I would no longer acknowledge how unusual and extraordinary my experience was.When creating work, I aim to capture the physical likeness of the performer and the uniqueness of the individual as a professional circus clown. Based around the original circus aesthetic, the old-fashioned clown costume and makeup is predominant in my work. I convey clarity and honesty to the portrait, inviting the viewer to appreciate the fundamentals of the character. I reveal the individual, looking beyond the show makeup toward the human condition with empathy to the personal connection I have with each performer I paint. The evident slowness in my paintings acknowledge attention paid to the layering of information, built-up levels of paint, and a complexity of mixed colours which bring the paintings to life.The body of work became unexpectedly more momentous while in production, as the beloved Cirque Du Soleil came to a halt due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Companywide, the cast and crew were laid off and sent home. As I continued to make my paintings the fear continued to grow over conversation of bankruptcy to the company and the chance that Cirque may never resume. Making this work in these unprecedented times has made me treasure the time I was able to travel with the show even more so. Through my brush strokes, I hope that my work can provoke similar wonder, exuberance and offer memories that frolic with the senses that Cirque Du Soleil has brought to this world. ”

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Leah Probst is a Toronto-based artist, where she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Ontario College of Art and Design University. Working mainly in the traditional medium of oil paint on canvas, she also works in Acrylic and soft pastel. Her subject matter is strongly figurative and portrait-based. Her paintings are comprehensible and recognizable, consisting of vibrant figures that come alive and seem to leap off the canvas. Probst believes that each viewer should be able to take away a unique experience shared with the work of art. Probst conveys clarity and honesty to the portrait, inviting the viewer to appreciate the fundamentals of the subject. She reveal the individual, looking beyond the surface toward the human condition with empathy to the personal connection she has with each subject. The evident slowness in her paintings acknowledge attention paid to the layering of information, built-up levels of paint, and a complexity of mixed colours which bring the paintings to life.
OCAD University
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Major Completed, 2020
OCAD U - Faculty of Art
Drawing and Painting
Major Completed, 2020
Fanshawe College
Fine Arts
Major Completed, 2017

Oil painting, Acrylic painting, Soft pastel

2020, Ten Thousand Clowns
Super Wonder Gallery, Toronto
2020, Fresh paint and new construction - 16th edition
Art Mûr Montreal
2020, OCAD U Drawing & Painting GradEx 105
Propeller Gallery, Toronto
2020, FACES III
Camelback Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
2019, Siskind Student Art Collection Show
Satellite Project Space, London
2019, Emerging Artists
Limner Gallery, New York
2017, The Annual International Representational Show
Vancouver, BC
2020, Gateway International Painting Competition – Best in Show
Gateway Painting Contests
2020, Drawing and Painting Class of 2020 GradX105 Show – Award Winner (1/6)
Propeller Gallery
2020, Donna MacLean Award
OCAD University and Donors
2020, Camelback Gallery’s FACES III Painting Awards – Best in Show
Camelback Gallery
2016, Bob & Shelly Siskind Visual Art Award
Bob & Shelly Siskind
2014, Halton Hills Mayor Youth Action Committee Art Show – Mayor’s Choice Award
Mayor of Halton Hills
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