Fragments
Leslye Arian '76

Juma Gallery Presents Premiere of Shaker Heights Artist

Leslye Arian’s “Fragments” opens March 13

(Shaker Heights – February 16, 2015) A showing of the works of local artist Leslye Arian, titled Fragments, opens March 13 at Juma Gallery, 20100 Chagrin Boulevard in Shaker Heights. An opening reception is scheduled from 6 to 9 pm.

Trained as a ceramicist, Arian’s process involves a tactile application of materials. She uses a combination of heavy body acrylics squeezed directly from the tube onto paper and mixes it with collage elements, charcoal, colored pencils and pastels. Now, for the first time, Juma Gallery owner Erica Weiss has convinced the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) graduate to show a limited collection of her drawings to the public. The show runs through April.

Until now, Arian’s artwork has been collected only by those successfully bidding on them in silent auctions at fundraisers for the charitable organizations she holds dear. “I like to donate my art to fundraisers for non-profit organizations. When someone buys one of my pieces and I know that the organization has been the beneficiary, it gives me so much pleasure,” says the artist.

One of Arian’s pieces has recently been accepted by ARTneo for inclusion in its show, Cleveland Creates: A Juried Exhibition of Northeast Ohio Artists. Other works have been purchased at fundraisers for CIA, SPACES Gallery, the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, Shaker Arts Council, The Temple Tifereth Israel, Shaker Historical Society, and Shaker LaunchHouse.

For more information, contact Juma Gallery at (216) 295-1717 or info@jumagallery.com.