LEIGH OVIATT

ARTIST STATEMENT

Through bold color choices and innovative techniques, Leigh Oviatt pushes the boundaries of contemporary fiber art from her Santa Fe studio. Her large-scale textile pieces emerge through intuitive exploration, combining rich textures with vibrant hues inspired by organic shapes and colors found in the natural environment. Each hand woven piece invites viewers into a tactile world where traditional craft meets modern expression. Her soft, handmade work is created in a state of flow and meditation, serving as a counterpoint to society's fascination with AI and fast paced living.

BIO

Leigh is a multidisciplinary artist currently immersed in weaving and fiber art. She grew up on a cattle ranch in Bozeman, Montana, spending her early years exploring the outdoors within a family of artists, cowboys, and educators. After more than 25 years in the rugged Pacific Northwest, she relocated to the gorgeous wide-open landscapes of New Mexico in 2018.

Throughout her life, Leigh has explored a wide range of creative practices including weaving, painting, jewelry fabrication, darkroom and street photography, film production, and set design. Her entrepreneurial spirit has been a parallel creative path, leading her to found a successful landscape design and build company with an accompanying cactus and succulent nursery in Oregon, and later to open an integrative wellness center that housed the first float tank on the Oregon coast.

Leigh has exhibited her photography and fiber art in galleries and shows across Washington, Oregon, Texas, California, and New Mexico. She was selected as a Harwood Art Center SURFACE: Emerging Artist of New Mexico in 2023 and received an Artist Inc. Fellowship in 2025. She currently lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where her days are spent making art, tending plants, and wandering the high desert with her sweet rescue animals.