Beach artist Lesley Luce to showcase her concentric circles creations at Toronto Artist Project this week

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

Beach artist Lesley Luce puts a twist on the norms of conventional art with her mesmerizing works of symmetrical concentric circles, which she will be debuting at the Toronto Artist Project art fair from May 8 to 11 at the Better Living Centre at Exhibition Place.

“This will be my artistic debut – the first time that I’ll be showing my art to a large public audience. I’m most excited about my art catching people’s attention and watching them walk up close to it to uncover all the different stories within it and to see that curiosity play out in real time,” said Luce in an interview with Beach Metro Community News at a preview in her home studio on Glen Manor Drive.

Luce’s meticulous process weaves thousands of perfectly placed digital and hand-crafted images in concentric circles, with each small image contributing to overarching themes of Canada’s history, music, nature, and culture. Her works of colourful circles draw viewers in from afar and invite them to explore the story behind the small images, which become more visible the closer viewers get.

“What really drives me to create is the idea of curiosity. I want my viewers to be drawn into my work from afar, and then when they get up close and they start looking closely at the work, I wanted there to be a reward for their curiosity,” said Luce.

Luce has been crafting concentric circles since 2023. On average, her works of art take anywhere between one to two weeks to complete. Her process begins with picking a subject matter and conducting thorough research to uncover the history behind the story she wishes to tell.

“I start with research. So, I read stories, books, and watch videos trying to understand the history of the piece. And then from that I’m looking for unique narratives or anecdotes that I can turn into an icon, and then that makes up each ring in my mixed medium pieces,” said Luce.

From there, she gathers the materials needed to craft each individual circle, including acrylic paint, images and designs printed with ChromaLife100+ ink on archival paper, stamps, small photographs, hand drawn shapes and patterns, as well as natural materials such as tree bark and sea glass – all of which is brought together on a wood panel canvas. 

Each layer is then mathematically calculated to determine how many pieces/images will be required before being applied to each circle within the piece. Each of Luce’s creations comes with detailed descriptions of the work, including the dimensions, number of materials used, and key details behind the composition’s narrative.

According to Luce, each ring of images works as a metaphor for a layer of the overarching story.

To help viewers familiarize themselves with the layered narrative of her work, each piece has an accompanying booklet providing detailed descriptions of each image’s contribution to the work’s underlying story.

Luce, who has lived in the Beach since 2016, studied fine arts at Queen’s University in Kingston. Prior to her studies, she had always been interested in the world of art and dreamed of pursuing a professional career in the field.

“I always had an interest in art, and I wanted to pursue it as a career, but it’s only now later in life in which I’m able to start that career, and so now I’m giving it 110 per cent,” said Luce.

She said her style of work strays away from the conventional practices of contemporary art she learned in school – which creates its own set of challenges and nuances.

“In terms of composition, it’s very challenging because normally art is linear in composition, or you’re using real life subject matter, which helps you create the space that the viewer is looking in. Working with concentric circles, all those lessons that you learn in art school disappear,” said Luce.

“It really is a different medium in terms of how an artist moves the viewer’s eyes around the canvas. I don’t see a lot of art in the market that is using concentric circles.”

For Luce, being surrounded by the nature, history, and culture of the Beach area has helped to inspire many of her works.

“I think living in the Beach there’s a lot of local characters that I want to incorporate into my work. I have two pieces that are about Canadian music. I included The Beaches band that are making waves in contemporary music, and then also Glen Gould, our local classical pianist,” said Luce.

“I think the Beach inspires a lot of creativity; not just in art, but also in music for example.”

Her piece “The Beach” is inspired by the history and nature of the region the title derives from, incorporating historical landmarks and prominent local figures held dear to Luce and Beach residents alike.

“I wanted to make a piece that explored the neighbourhood’s history, but also, incorporate some of the local landmarks that are close to my heart. And so, there’s a lot of Toronto archive photos in there, as well as some local favourites like Bud’s Coffee shop and Limon, the restaurant on Queen Street East, which is my son’s favourite,” said Luce.

“There’s local landmarks like the Leuty lifeguard station, the fire station, and the architectural screen at Kew Gardens. I also included some local heroes like Ted Reeve and members from the Balmy Beach Club.”

In the future, Luce hopes to see her concentric circle art be showcased at more art displays across the city and cover more facets of Canadian culture and history.

“If the AGO (The Art Gallery of Ontario) wants to give me a call, I am definitely open to that, but I would love to continue to work on different Canadian subject matters and then see the people who are involved in those stories experience my art for themselves,” said Luce.

Luce will be showcasing her art at Booth 226 from May 8 to 11 at the Toronto Artist Project art fair at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place. For more information about the Toronto Artist Project art fair, head to the Toronto Artist Project website.

More information about Luce and her artwork can be found on her Instagram at @lesleyluceart, or by heading to her website at https://www.lesleyluceart.com/