An artist talk event with Dene Leigh, one of the three artists of the group show 'Crystal', moderated by Jo-Lene Ong. The event takes place in the evening of Thursday 15 May, and the extended show will close the next day, 16 May.
Dene Leigh
Dene Leigh is a British Artist who lives and works in London, UK. He studied at Wimbledon College of Arts, London. His work has been featured in Art Maze Magazine, Hi-Fructose Magazine, Art Verge, and Daily Serving. Leigh won the SPACE Artist Awards in 2021 and has been shortlisted for numerous prizes, including The Brewers Towner International 2022, The Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize 2021, The Young Masters Art Prize 2014, and The Clyde & Co Awards 2012. Leigh has held solo exhibitions at Baert Gallery in Los Angeles and participated in group exhibitions at various notable galleries, including The Royal Academy of Art, London; Canterbury Museums, Canterbury; Gallery Rosenfeld, London; Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix, London; Towner Gallery, Eastbourne; and MK Gallery. In 2022-2023, he was commissioned to create a painting for the Mirror Mirror exhibition at The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, Canterbury, in partnership with The National Portrait Gallery, London. This painting is now part of the permanent public collection at Canterbury Museums and Galleries.
Jo-Lene Ong
Jo-Lene Ong (b.Ipoh, Malaysia) is Curator at esea contemporary, Manchester. Previously, she was Programme Advisor for the 12th Seoul Mediacity Biennale (2023). Her practice engages with counter-colonial worldviews, speculative histories and aesthetic strategies of resistance. Her curatorial practice has spanned various platforms, including exhibitions at Framer Framed, Amsterdam; Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam; Other Futures Festival, Amsterdam; ILHAM Gallery, Kuala Lumpur; National Art Center Tokyo; and Mori Art Museum, Tokyo. Ong has contributed to art publications and edited volumes with De Appel and esea contemporary. She has participated in fellowships and residencies at the Asia Cultural Council, New York; MMCA Korea; Delfina Foundation, London; Ishibashi Foundation; and Japan Foundation. Ong’s curatorial approach emphasises independent learning and connections across less-networked regions. She recently jointly led a curatorial exchange for Sharjah Biennial 16 during April Acts and in 2024, she co-initiated the Fictional Healing Collective Filmmaking Lab and CounterArchive, a recurring programme exploring alternatives to dominant historical narratives.
