Leila Garde

Leila, was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and through her schooling studied art, followed by a diploma in fashion design. In November 1995, Leila relocated to Cape Town, to pursue a career in lingerie design, successfully supplying main stream retailers both locally and abroad in the United Kingdom.

In 2008, after 13 successful years in the industry, Leila chose to “retire” from the design arena, to pursue her true passion, and now paints full time, from her home in Hout Bay. 

Her work is inspired by spirit and nature. Her organic subjects evolve through a process of gravity, evaporation and layering. Using mixed medium, and through an abstract contemporary style, images are born.

 Her work's symbolism illustrates yin & yang, the positive and negative forces. The black, in contrast to the symbolic white and silver which flows freely through out her work, is a conscious representation of all good and bad, illustrating the extremes that exist in all, and their symbiotic relationships.

 Her work is a testimony to the “essence or spirit” within us all, and believes art to be a meditation that connects us to our inner self. Her work shares this “essence” within each subject, and lives in harmony with today’s modern interiors.

 Leila has been exhibiting locally since August 2008 and has been invited to exhibit internationally, at galleries both in New York, Miami and Montreal.