ABOUT MARLA
Artist Statement
My paintings and textile works investigate how history and race relate to the power of the black body by combating false narratives and exploring the creation of new ones. Uniting symbolism from both Black history and contemporary Black culture, I aim to decipher dehumanizing representations of black people from the past, while simultaneously emphasizing symbols of pride and power found in today’s Black American culture.
Biography
McLeod explores identity and social constructs within Black communities through her portrait paintings, textiles, and sculptures. In 2022 she held a solo exhibition at Essex Arts Center in Lowell, MA and is an artist in the New England Triennial at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Fruitlands Museum.
In 2021 she received a Walter Feldman Fellowship, awarded by the Arts&Business Council of Greater Boston and was a spotlighted artist interviewed by Cristela Guerra at WBUR/NPR Boston. 2021 has seen her work in several Boston based art galleries, as well as at Tufts University Art Galleries. Her MFA thesis made her a featured artist on the MFA, Boston 2020 Takeover Fridays social media project, the 2020 Area Code Art Fair StoreFronts Projects, and one of the Boston Globes “5 Outstanding Art School Grads”. She has received the Will and Elena Barnet Painting Award, a Tisch Library Graduate Research Fellowship, and presented at Black Portraitures, NYU.
She was awarded a Post Graduate Teaching Fellowship at the SMFA and has taught courses at Southern Connecticut State University. McLeod is currently an Adjunct Professor at Maine College of Art (MECA), Boston College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
CV
EDUCATION
2020
MFA in Studio Art, Interdisciplinary
School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Thesis Exhibition: Women
Faculty Mentor Professors: Mark Cooper, Jeannie Simms, Danielle Abrams
2014
BS in Studio Art, Major in Painting
Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, Essex Art Center, Lowell, MA
2021
“We the People (Our Love Will See Us Through), Kniznick Gallery, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
Displacement, Hopkinton Center for the Arts, Hopkinton, MA
MECAD Summer Show, Maine College of Art & Design, Portland, MEA
God is a Woman, Warehouse 365, Hartford, CT
New England Triennial, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA & Fruitlands Museum, Harvard, MA
2021
New Voices, New Visions, St. Botolph Club Foundation, Boston, MA
Salon Show, Essex Art Center, Lowell, MA
As Above, So Below, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA
A Year in Review, Nearby Gallery, Cambridge, MA
The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity, Gallery 1832, Boston, MA
2020
StoreFront Projects, Area Code Art Fair, Boston, MA*
Emerge 2020, Gallery 263, Cambridge, MA*
Art Sale, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA*
As Above, So Below, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Painting and Drawing Show, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA*
2019
RePresent, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Erasure, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Painting and Drawing Show, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA*
Leftover Data, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Not Just Us: Women Artists Speak Out for Social Justice, Dana Art Gallery, Wellesley, MA
2018
Responding with Representation, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Same-Sex Exhibit, City Lights Gallery, Bridgeport, CT
2017
Art Show, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT
2016
Identity, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT
2015
Alumni Art Show, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT
2014
Exhibition of Undergraduate College Artwork in Connecticut, John Slade Ely House, New Haven, CT
Juried, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT *
Black, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT
*Indicates juried shows
GRANTS, AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS
2021
Blanche E. Colman Award, BNY Mellon
Emerging Artists Award/Amelia Peabody Grant in Sculpture, St. Botolph Club Foundation
Walter Feldman Fellowship, Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston
2019
Will and Elena Barnet Painting Award, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University
Tisch Library Graduate Research Fellowship for RePresent, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University
2014
Robert Eisele Fine Arts Award, Southern Connecticut State University
GUEST LECTURES/ WORKSHOPS/ PANELS
2022
Guest Reviewer, MassArt Art Education Reviews, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Event, Amazon Robotics, Westborough, MA
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Event, Amazon Robotics, North Reading, MA
Nursery Workshops 1- 4, Lincoln Nursery School, Lincoln, MA
Teen Workshops 1 & 2, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA and Fruitlands Museum, Harvard, MA
Garment & Grid Making Workshops, Essex Art Center, Lowell, MA
Black History Month 3rd Annual Black Professionals Panel w/ Dr. Anthony Culpepper, Glendale Community College, CA
2021
Artist Lecture, Maine College of Art & Design, Portland, ME
Artist Lecture, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Massachusetts Scholastic Awards, Painting Juror
Elements & Principles of Art Workshop, LabCentral Inc., Cambridge, MA
LabCentral All Teams Presentation, LabCentral Inc., Cambridge, MA
2020
Guest Reviewer, MassArt Art Education Reviews, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Tufts Arts & Sciences Board of Advisors Presentation, Medford, MA
2019
Tisch Library Research Grant Presentation, Medford, MA
Black Portraitures, for RePresent, New York University, New York, NY
Cube Panel, for Identity and Portraiture, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA
PUBLICATIONS
2021
Cate McQuaid, “Marla McLeod tells a story with every stitch in “We the People, (Our Love Will See Us Through)’ at Brandeis”
Cristela Guerra, “Marla McLeod: The Creative Grind”, wbur.org
2020
Cate McQuaid, "5 Outstanding Art-School Grads for 2020" Boston Globe.com
Celina Colby, “Marla McLeod Greets the Quarantined Art World with Optimism” Bay State Banner.com
Mark Levy, “Storefront Art Project Places Stunning McLeod at Gallery 263, an Appropriate Window for a Visit,” cambridgeday.com
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Instagram. @mfaboston, #mfaArtistTakeover, October, 2020
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
2022
Adjunct Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Adjunct Professor, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
2021
Adjunct Professor, Maine College of Art and Design, Portland, ME
Graduate Studies, Pre-College Studies
Research Assistant, Helina Metaferia, Boston, MA
2020-2021
Adjunct Professor, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT
Undergraduate Studies - Intro to Drawing
Post Graduate Teaching Fellow, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Undergraduate Studies - Senior Thesis
2020
Co-Curator, Area Code Art Fair (New England), Boston, MA
2018-2019
Tufts University Art Gallery, Exhibitions Fellowship, Medford, MA