Jeff Leake currently lives in Portland Oregon in the beautiful pacific northwest. he holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from the University of California at Davis. He currently works with neuroscience faculty at Portland State University to teach art and neuroscience. In 2012 along with Dr. Bill Griesar he started NWNOGGIN an art and neuroscience outreach group that teaches about the brain and behavior through art and art making everywhere from K-12 schools to Congress.
Leake’s work explores topics concerning culture, nature and human behavior connecting the present with the ancient past. His works cite a history of stories and visual culture while maintaining a focus on the cultural paradigms that often govern human lives. He often depicts chimeric yet familiar landscapes and fantasy scenes with a style that oscillates between Bruegel, Bosch and the popular science and history illustrations of his youth. By blending historic images with invented archetypes and observed landscapes, Leake merges history and fantasy to create timeless images that convey the complexity of the relationship between humanity and the natural world.
He has shown nationally across the United States and internationally and has been awarded numerous grants and awards including the Arte Laguna prize, Ford foundation Golden Spot award, grants from the Oregon Art Commission, and Regional Arts & Culture Council as well as residencies at Caldera Arts, UCROSS, the Montello Foundation, Pedvale Art Park in Latvia and the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai. He is currently represented by Gallery 114 here in Portland and Ying Gallery way out in Beijing.