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Ilene Winn-Lederer
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Trained in drawing at Saturday morning classes at the Art Insitute of Chicago from the tender age of seven, Ilene
was 'drawing ever since I could hold a pencil'. She also decided early on about her vocation: even as a small child she did not want to color in other artists' coloring books, but wished to create her own. The revelation came when she was given a coloring book with tracing paper, and from that moment an illustrator was born.
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Inspired by her travels through the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Israel, Ilene enjoys creating original imagery that 'navigates the delicate bridge between the mundane and mystical theaters of human experience'. This process includes interpreting tales of her Eastern European family heritage and exploring the relationships
between symbols found in world and classical mythology.
In one image of a sultan, Ilene explores tales of magic carpets and old myths, the sultan's turban replete with a maze of drawings of mosques and turrets from the old city of Baghdad. In another illustration, Ilene interprets the story of Babel and cultural chaos as 70 different tongues are spoken.
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The intricate and colorful results become allegorical tapestries on paper and canvas that illuminate the histories of art, literature and religion. She calls her style 'visual alchemy' a way of taking in various experiences to 'form a new image that is completely different'.
Ink and watercolor are Ilene's primary media, functioning best as an extension of her thought process. Preferring to explore ideas rather than a clever style or technique, Ilene's choice of medium frees her to explore and interpret multiple areas of tnterest with equal intensity.
Her work spanning a couple of decades includes illustrations for books, magazines, and theatre posters. Through regional and national group and solo exhibitions, Ilene's work is represented in many public and private collections such as The Blount Collection of American Art in Montgomery, Alabama and MARC USA. Her professional affiliations include: The Graphic Artist's Guild and The Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators. She has taught illustration and design at the Ivy School of Professional Art and at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
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Her more recent work is moving away from
the more traditional religious icons into a more contemporary setting. She
also uses traditional icons with a modern twist: in Liberation, she looks at the changing role of women in the Middle East. In Street Lizard with Latte, a mythical figure is sipping his latte at a coffee shop typing in his 'worm' laptop, the scene complete with cell phone. In yet another image, we are reminded of De Chirico's piazzas and journeys of the mind.
Her rich images and fantastical animals are perfectly suited to illustrate fables and children's books; her rich costumes form a perfect backdrop for the theatre and posters.
Her greatest passion is to tell a story to open up the imagination, a fact that is recognized by others-- one of her clients once jokingly asked her 'How much would you charge me for a ticket to your imagination?' In fact, part of Ilene's vision as an artist is to 'enable my viewers to rediscover, both intellectually and emotionally, their own treasury of personal icons'.
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