Untitled

Chicago-born artist June Leaf was one of the more whimsical members of the Monster Roster, a group of artists who were interested in the figure during a period of art that has been overshadowed by abstraction. Leaf’s work draws on a long tradition of visionary art and is informed by memories from her early childhood. She has kept up an active fantasy life, which she explores in her paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings full of imagined creatures and unreal settings. She explains, “I think of myself as an inventor.” At the same time, much of her work tells stories, often about relationships, including that between her and her husband, renowned photographer Robert Frank. The critic Dennis Adrian explains, “Leaf’s view of the world is one of inter-relating public and private theaters of existence.”