Simone Leigh

Simone Leigh (b. 1967) is an American artist whose multidisciplinary practice — encompassing sculpture, installation, video and social practice — foregrounds Black female subjectivity and the cultural legacies of the African diaspora. Born in Chicago to Jamaican missionaries, Leigh earned a BA in art and philosophy from Earlham College in 1990.

Leigh's work is characterised by the use of traditional African materials and forms, such as cowrie shells, raffia and tobacco leaves, combined with techniques like lost-wax casting and salt-firing. Her sculptures often reference African art and vernacular objects, creating spaces where historical precedent and self-determination co-mingle.

In 2022, Leigh became the first Black woman to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale, presenting her exhibition Sovereignty in the U.S. Pavilion. The show featured a series of monumental sculptures, including Brick House (2019), a 16-foot-tall bronze bust that merges architectural forms with the Black female body. Leigh's work was also included in the Biennale's main exhibition, The Milk of Dreams, where she received the Golden Lion for Best Participant.

Leigh's practice extends beyond the studio into social practice and collaborative performance. Her 2016 project The Waiting Room at the New Museum in New York offered a series of public programmes focusing on Black women's wellness and self-care. In 2022, she organized Loophole of Retreat: Venice, a three-day convening of Black women artists, writers and scholars, as part of her Biennale presentation.

Leigh's work has been exhibited at institutions including the Hammer Museum, the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Whitney Museum of American Art. She has received numerous awards, such as the Hugo Boss Prize (2018) and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2016).