Bringing Artists Together One Painting at a Time

People assume that artists are fiercely independent in their thinking and creative processes, but a new exhibition "Cultural Collisions!" debunks that myth. It features paintings worked on collaboratively by two to four artists at a time. It's on view now through May 19 at Broward College in the 12th floor Art Space Gallery, 111 East Las Olas Blvd. in downtown Fort Lauderdale. It's free and open to the public.

The idea for working together was the brainchild of Timothy Leistner, an artist, teacher and owner of Artist's Eye Fine Art Gallery in Dania Beach. He asked fellow artist and long time friend Francisco Sheuat, "Wouldn't it be neat if we worked together?"

Soon artist Julio Green became part of the project and he brought in Carmen Cordero, the only woman.

"I came up with a schedule," says Leistner. "Each person started a painting and each person finished a painting. Francisco liked the idea of two large paintings by all of us."

The collaboration proved challenging. "At first it was difficult," says Leistner. "You had to save space on the painting for someone else. Who ever started could start with any thoughts or ideas and the next person had to feed off that...Certain paintings took longer than others. It was interesting to see them at the end when we put our minds together. Sometimes the results were surprising."

If visitors to the show detect a Latin vibe from the works, it's because Sheuat hails from Venezuela, Green is from Honduras, and Cordero is from the Dominican Republic.

"Some paintings I favor more than others," Leistner admits. "I was not familiar with Carmen's work, but I liked the way our painting came together."

All four artists contributed to the large mixed-media painting "Searching for Answers." Leistner explains, "Carmen started with a very ethnic islander with a sort of androgynous face. The figure wears a bowl or hat with a village inside, from which I got the idea of an abundance of fish. I was bringing in thoughts of my religion, Christianity, and the concept of helping each other. Francisco did a separate piece with waters that he wanted incorporated in the painting. Julio added a sun-drenched island. I was very pleased with the result."

Certain paintings took longer than others. "What was nice about the project is that we all had to be respectful enough to leave the mark of the artist who worked on it previously," says Leistner. "It was fun getting together and painting in the studio. We would work for awhile, then turn around and see what the others had done. Sometimes we would have breakfast meetings. Other times, we would work late and open a bottle of wine. Our camaraderie was strengthened."

"Cultural Collisions!" will move to Leistner's Artist's Eye Fine Art Gallery for the month of July. Other venues are being scheduled.

The busy Leistner also has a solo photography show now through the end of April at the George Hester Gallery in the Stonewall Library Museum and Archives in Fort Lauderdale. All of the images come from a series he calls conceptual portraiture.

Leistner admits that some people find his photos disquieting. "I guess because they are in your face," he says. "They tell a story, which is not always pretty, about social injustice and being an outsider. I find so much strength about people from their eyes, which can tell a different story than the face."

Visit Leistner's website TimothyLeistner.com for more information.