Artists Statement:

Following an accident in my studio, I was relegated to bed – and thus began an incredible study of our relationship with the bed in all its visual, literary and narrative forms. More than a third of our life is spent in bed, yet rarely has it been examined through a multi-faceted work of art. Exploring this in 3 dimensions has given full scope to my sense of humor, pathos, whimsy, sarcasm, tragedy and passion.  It has been an ambitious undertaking to create The 101 BED COLLECTION of inter-related sculptures related to words with “bed” in them.  Meeting the challenge has been mind - expanding and multi-sensorial in every sense.

I have invited my audience into a very special theater of personal experience by creating the UNMADE BED PROJECT, a collection of personal images of UNMADE BEDS from around the world (www.unmadebedproject.com)  and in 2011, I began to collect audio contributions about dreams. 

My work in portraiture follows my own search for a higher state of consciousness. What if I could capture the consciousness of my subject by entering the mind through its only portal beyond the cranium: the eyes? Our physical form is an external manifestation of our thoughts, one of which is supreme – how we see ourselves. If I could see my subject as my subject sees herself/himself, in her/ his secret thoughts, most intimate thoughts, what would be seen?  As my subject poses, a conversation begins not unlike one that would occur between a patient and her/his analyst. The revelations, the “nakedness”, then become symbolized through forms and objects, through stances and poses, until the portrait makes a statement that is not simply representational. The sur-realization is in fact, the reality of a complex being, revealed beyond the classic portrait. There is no mis-taking the subject. But my approach is beyond “likeness”, it is a revelation of the inside-out of a self.  I think of my portraits as “soul-catchers”, an effervescence that is tangibly intangible. 

What better place to start than with myself as the subject! 

Short Biography

Leah Poller was born in Pennsylvania. She received classical training in sculpture at the prestigious Ecole Nationale Superieure de Beaux Arts, in Paris, France. Partaking of a rich, multi-cultural environment, Poller interacted with foremost members of the international arts communities of France, Spain, Italy and Latin America during her 20 years in Paris.   Returning to the United States in 1992,and opened The Art Alliance in a consummate Soho loft. There she specialized in introducing "New to America" mid and late career artists (Jacques Soisson, Ipousteguy, Ugo Attardi, Bernardo Torrens, etc.). Her Salon evenings were the rage, presented in the grand tradition of the European Salon, while "Frame it, Its Yours" and "Yin-yang - A social/cultural Laboratory"  were precursors to current trends in gallery activities. Poller has curated more than 125 exhibitions worldwide.  Simultaneously, she established her studio  and began the series of “101 Beds” which has been exhibited in galleries and institutions in Europe, Mexico, and throughout the United States. In 2009 Poller moved to Sugar Hill, Harlem. She is currently concluding the 101 Bed Collection and its social media component "The Unmade bed Project (www.unmadebedproject.com), a collection of unmade bed photos from around the world.  From her classical training as a portraitist, Poller is working on several portrait commissions in which the thoughts of the subject are transformed from internal to external, appearing as “headdresses” on her subjects.  She has been featured on CNN, Fox Television and in numerous art publications.   She has lectured extensively and held workshops on creativity. In 2003, she was named Director of “Intercambios de Arte y Cultural Internacionale”, a not-for profit furthering cultural exchanges between the Americas and spearheading the restoration of a major twentieth century mural, recently discovered to be the work of Philip Guston.