leiminspace is proud to present “The Imaginal Disc” an exhibition by Los Angeles artist Ariel McCleese. The exhibition will be open to the public from December 5th, 2015 through January 9th, 2016. The Opening Reception will be held on the evening of December 5th, from 7 to 10 pm. 

 

The Imaginal Disc exhibits Ariel McCleese’s latest body of work. The work is comprised of mixed media wall pieces, ranging from meticulous graphite drawings to collected residuals from the artist’s various investigations into the metamorphic processes of butterflies. The exhibition exists as a presentation of flatworks and as an installation, due to the artist's inclusion of live specimens. Painted Lady butterflies occupy the space alongside the work in various stages of development, from caterpillar to adult imago. 

 

     Underlying McCleese's work is an investigation of the meeting point between art and science. The artwork exists in multiple forms with the connective tissue residing in an analysis of indexical marks that denote the process of observation. Index is left by the observer (the artist) and by the observed subject (the butterfly). The gallery exists both as the white cube of artistic space and as the scientific lab. A multiplicity of meanings is encouraged as observation continues in the space of The Imaginal Disc.

 

Bio: Ariel McCleese is an artist living and working in Los Angeles.  McCleese is a research-based artist with an interdisciplinary practice.  Her work operates both on a material and theoretical level, juxtaposing unexpected material combinations with a similarly layered conceptual framework.  McCleese’s recent bodies of work investigate the biology of Lepidoptera and the physical principle of entropy.  She explores complex scientific ideas with a diversity of materials and forms. www.ArielMcCleese.com