Leah Nadeau Artist Bio and Statement — leahnadeau Skip to content
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ABOUT LEAH

ABOUT LEAH

Leah Nadeau is an abstract artist working primarily in acrylic. Storytelling, memory, and chromesthesia—the experience of seeing music as color- are the foundation of her work.

Growing up near Detroit, Michigan, shaped her eye early on; she became intrigued by the shape of taillights, a recurring theme that surfaces in her work. A childhood trip to Prague sparked a fascination with architecture and led her to buy her first sketchbook. Later, studying film taught her to notice how composition, color, and small details can shape the way a story feels.

Those experiences continue to influence the way she paints today. Rather than painting real places, Leah builds imagined ones from fragments of memory. Her paintings are made from colors, patterns, and forms that feel familiar without belonging to a specific place. She hopes her paintings leave room for viewers to bring their own memories to the story, discovering something new each time they return.

Leah is based in the Portland, Oregon area, where she lives with her partner, Ollie, and her velcro dog, Gus.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I live with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, OCD, and ADHD. Chronic pain is part of life, and so is a busy inner world. Strong fears, rumination, and a mind that doesn't quiet easily are the norm. I'm not separate from these things. They are present in every painting I make.

Art is how I navigate that. When I start a painting, something shifts. As the composition emerges, my brain begins to quiet. My inner world takes over, and a story surfaces, calming the noise. That process is not incidental to the work; it is the work.

Growing up, I felt isolated from childhood trauma, carrying experiences others my age didn't have. That shaped a deep belief that every person's experience deserves to be seen. I make work that holds space for struggle without asking people to explain it. Resilience, to me, isn't triumph. It's continuing, and finding beauty worth returning to along the way. My hope is that each piece is a reminder that we are resilient and whimsical even through the hardest of times.

Leah shares her work and story through a widely engaged social media platform that functions as an extension of her practice rather than a simple archive. She has lived with neurodivergence her entire life. Rather than viewing it as a limitation, she draws strength from the ways it shapes her perception, creativity, and connection with others. Vulnerability and resilience inform how she shows up—both in her work and in the world.

Leah Nadeau's public art installation

Currently, Leah’s work is featured in What We (Be)Hold, a juried group exhibition at Artspace in Lake Oswego, Oregon, until October 9th.

Leah’s work is also held in the permanent collection of the Henry Ford Health Cancer Pavilion in Detroit, Michigan, where two of her paintings are installed in spaces experienced daily by patients, families, and medical staff. Within an environment dedicated to care and healing, the works offer moments of color, connection, and reflection.

This February, she exhibited her work at the Palm Springs Modernism Show during Modernism Week in Palm Springs, California (2026), where 11 of her paintings found new collectors.

Her work has been exhibited in past solo and group exhibitions, including Organized Chaos with the Women United Artist Movement (2024), All About Women, a juried exhibition at the Marin Society of Artists (2023), and the Seattle Art Walk (2022). In addition to her residency, her public art installation, a sculpture, has been on view in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, since 2022. Leah’s work and story have been featured in Seattle Refined, Great Lakes by Design, Women United Artist Movement, and Bold Journey.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts, University of San Francisco (2013)
Master of Arts, Aberystwyth University (2015)

Exhibitions:

2026:

What We Be(hold)- Arts Council of Lake Oswego Arspace Gallery

Palm Springs Modernism Show at Modernism Week

2024: Women United Artist Movement Solo Show

2023:  Side Rail Collective- Georgetown Art Attack Group Exhibition

All About Women-  Juried Group Exhibition - Marin Society of Artists

Exhibizone- Curves 2023 Group Exhibition

2022: West Seattle Art Walk: Solo Exhibition

2021:  Henry Ford Cancer Center Pavilion: permanent artist residency 

Roaring Artist Gallery: Powerful Little Things Exhibition

 Lions and Rabbits Art Gallery:  Artist residency at Cityflats Hotel in Grand Rapids, MI

2020:  Brewery Fasian: Solo exhibition, Detroit, MI

The Lemon Tree: Solo exhibition, South Lyon, MI

2019:  Great Lakes Coffee Co: Solo exhibition, Detroit, MI

2017: Small Wonders: Group exhibition, Grosse Pointe, MI

Press:

Atomic Ranch: Art of the Midcentury: Continuing Tradition: MCM Artists Today Creating the Artful Home (link)

Artist Lane: Geometric Symphony: Leah Nadeau's Colorful Compositions (link)

Seattle Refined: Artist of the Week: Leah Nadeau (link)

Women United Artist Movement: Creating Rhythym Between Chroma and Contrast (link)

Bold Journey: Resilience: Meet Leah Nadeau (link)

Canvas Rebel: Meet Leah Nadeau (link)

Great Lakes by Design Magazine: Architectonics. Volume 5, Issue 6 (link)

I Love Creatives: Contemporary Abstract Painter Leah Nadeau (link)

Grosse Pointe Alumni and Friends: Leah Nadeau: Class of 2009 (link)

Ann Arbor With Kids: Color the Quarantine Coloring Book (link)