Stacy  Leeman is an abstract painter working in Columbus, Ohio. Her work is a style she calls gestural symbolism.  As a gestural painter influenced by Abstract Expressionism, Leeman utilizes mark making and juxtaposing incongruous colors to create unified and absorbing images. As a symbolist, she develops a set of symbols in terms of colors, shapes, and underlying images for each series.  Each series of paintings begins with a question or problem that she solves in her own visual language through creating a set of symbols and colors. “The beginning paintings in a series for me are fraught with excitement and fear as I have no roadmap for the finished works,” Leeman said. “This not knowing, though, is part of the thrill of painting.” Her work includes collages and oil paint on canvas, paper, wood and Dura-Lar. She makes painterly paintings that play with the viscosity of paint creating works that are multilayered, messy and complicated. Leeman’s paintings and drawings have been exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States. Her work is held in public and private collections, including Princeton University. Ms. Leeman has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors. She received grants from the Greater Columbus Arts Council and Vermont Studio Center. Leeman earned her BA in studio art from Oberlin College and MFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Ms. Leeman teaches painting and drawing at colleges in Columbus. Ms. Leeman is represented by the Brandt-Roberts Galleries in Columbus, Ohio; Rutledge Street Gallery in Camden, South Carolina; WheelHouse Art in Louisville, Kentucky; 530 Burns Gallery in Sarasota, Florida; and Bonfoey Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio.