" My work explores the intersection between what is real and what is perceived. I am constantly searching for spaces where this boundary has become visible and through my work I try to examine this border. I am broadly influenced by the history of depiction and illusionism in painting, stemming from my background as an oil painter. The attempt to breach the physical world and move into a utopian space of perfection and beauty has propelled my work from the beginning. I continue along this path using any medium and format at my disposal, including video, installation and animation. I have found commonality in the role of mathematics, proportion and viewer perception in each piece that I do. By simultaneously pulling the viewer into a work and pushing the process out into the physical world, through painting, performance or motion, I hope to negotiate a space somewhere in between." Leister currently works from his studio in Denver, Colorado and is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Denver where he teaches Digital Design. He received a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA in Art and Visual Technology from George Mason University. His work has been commissioned for the covers of many national and international magazines, including Time, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Der Spiegel and the Atlantic Monthly. He has won over 100 awards from competitions such as Communication Arts Illustration Annual, the Art Directors Club of Washington DC, the Illustrators Club of Washington DC, AIGA, PRINT and a gold and silver medal from the Society of Illustrators in NYC. His paintings are in the collections of The Museum of American Art, The District of Columbia Historical society, Kohler, Celestial Seasonings, James River Paper Company, Blue Cross Blue Shields and many private collections. His new media installation and video work has been exhibited throughout the Washington DC region including shows at the The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Provisions Gallery, The Pyramid Atlantic gallery and the Arlington Arts Center. Temporal Interference, a collaboration with the Jane Franklin Dance Company, was performed this spring at The Kennedy Center Millenium Stage.
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