CONTEMPORARY ART STOCKROOM Leah Thiessen

Leah Thiessen’s abstract, highly layered images are created in direct response to bush, beaches and mangroves that surround her home and studio on the edge of the Terranora Broadwater in Northern NSW. Exploring the living energy of nature, Thiessen’s work draws upon the biodiversity of the bush and mangroves that line the water’s edge and reflect the the raw energy and liveliness of a space and place.

‘My work taps into the emotional gravity of a place, its memory, its pulse, its rawness and power. For me the paintings communicate a deep felt relationship with the earth, embodying a spirit of place and its atmosphere. The images are a direct emotional response to the bush, beaches and mangroves that surround my home. My paintings explore unique ways of capturing the diversity of the natural terrain. I am interested in local flora, protected plant species, seaweeds and noxious plants. I often start my paintings with the small delicate details found in the bush and then depart to a place of frantic energy.’
Leah Thiessen, Artist Statement

"Thiessen describes her work as an immersion in the emotional resonance of her surroundings. Each painting begins with subtle impressions - delicate marks and quiet tones - that gradually build into more vigorous layers of color and form. The process is instinctive and physical, guided as much by feeling as by sight. She often pushes a piece well beyond the point where other artists might stop, stripping away and rebuilding until a new kind of harmony emerges.”
Excerpt from catalogue essay by Kate McAuley 2025

ARTIST PROFILE:
Leah Thiessen has been exhibiting nationally since 2010. In both 2025 and 2023 she was listed in the Top 100 Collectable Artists (top100artists.com). She has been a finalist in the Lethbridge Landscape Art Prize (2024, 2022), the Omnia Art Prize (2024), the Calleen Art Award (2022, 2019, 2016, 2015), the Muswellbrook Art Prize (2021), the John Leslie Prize (2020, 2018, 2016), the Glover Prize (2020), the John Villiers Art Prize for Small Works (2020), the Clayton UTZ Art Award (2019), the Gosford Art Prize (2019), and the Paddington Art Award (2016) among others. She has exhibited nationwide since 2010. In 2026 Leah Thiessen exhibited a solo at the Tweed Regional Gallery in 'Along the Shore and Under the Trees'.

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A place for dreaming 2025
oil, spray paint, oil stick, pencil on poly cotton
180cm x 200cm
$14,500 AUD

Sheoak 2025
oil, spray paint, oil stick, pencil on poly cotton
180cm x 180cm
$12,900 AUD

Warmth 2025
oil, spray paint, oil stick, pencil on poly cotton
180cm x 180cm
$12,900 AUD

Evergreen 2025
oil, spray paint, oil stick, pencil on poly cotton
123cm x 123cm
$7,900 AUD

Deep within the valley 2025
oil on poly cotton
123cm x 123cm
$7,900 AUD

Morning walks 1 2025
mixed medium, collage on paper, framed
66cm x 66cm
$2,500 AUD

Morning walks 2 2025
mixed medium, collage on paper, framed
66cm x 66cm
$2,500 AUD

Reflections 2024
oil on canvas (diptych)
150cm x 360cm each canvas 150 x 180cm
$22,000 AUD

Meandering 2025
oil on polycotton, unframed
200cm x 150cm
$12,500 AUD

Dreamscape 2024
oil on linen
180cm x 180cm
$12,500 AUD

Catching Sunbeams 2025
oil on polycotton, framed
153cm x 153cm
$9,900 AUD

Kiss the Moonlight 2025
oil on marine ply, framed
125cm x 155cm
$9,250 AUD

Dappled Light 2025
oil on polycotton, unframed
110cm x 200cm
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