Leslie Holding was born in former Yugoslavia in 1952. He is 71 years old at this point in time.
An abstract surrealist artist fascinated by dreamscapes and imagery of rural and metropolitan areas.
A pivotal moment in his life occurred when he was first admitted to a psychiatric ward. It was ten days before his 17th birthday.
He was homeless and picked up by services at half past five in the morning. Much of his perception of houses and landscapes reflects this time and his sense of an empty uncaring society. He describes the years following this as “running through the system without shoes”.
Leslie is passionate about the way art can be used to explore states of ‘madness’ as well as parallels with codes of communication like mathematics and architecture. Hyper-physics is an area of regular consideration.
Lots of art forms in madness is Leslie’s first solo exhibition and includes works from the past 12 years of his practice.
The exhibition will continue across all three Seventh gallery spaces until Friday 10th November.