Second Street Gallery is pleased to announce Hurry Slowly, an exhibition of work by Richmond artist Leigh Suggs held in the Main Gallery from February 5 – March 26, 2021.

Leigh Suggs’ hypnotic works on paper explore and celebrate the act of seeing. In our cultural climate, constant digital distractions are causing us to lose focus and concentration. Suggs challenges this widespread desensitization with work that invites viewers to slow down, pay attention, and savor each hand-crafted detail. Her patterns, carefully created by cutting and folding paper, visually manipulate light and movement to create unique physical and psychological experiences.

For her Postal Quilt series, Suggs collected thousands of security envelopes from people all over the country to fold and stitch into abstract compositions. Following an election that aggressively threatened the legitimacy of the US Postal Service, these pieces pay homage to essential postal workers while raising concerns about the fragility of government systems. Hand-cut works like Pacing the Races IV twist into mazes with no discernible beginning or end; large-scale installations like On Our Way create vibrating optical illusions with intense color and pattern. As a collection, Hurry Slowly highlights Suggs’ laborious creative process and offers viewers the opportunity to truly connect with themselves through each piece.

Leigh Suggs lives and works in Richmond, VA. She received her BFA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Suggs has exhibited widely in Virginia, North Carolina, New York, and across the country. She has been awarded several grants and honors including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Award, the North Carolina Fellowship Award, two City of Richmond CultureWorks grants, and a residency at the Quirk Hotel & Gallery in Richmond, VA.

This exhibition is sponsored by Mary Pontillo & Christian Galdencio. Work from the exhibition is made possible in part by CultureWorks.