Leigh Brooklyn, formerly Leigh Bongiorno, was born in 1987 outside of Cleveland, Ohio. In 2006 Brooklyn enrolled into the Columbus College of Art and Design. Later she transferred to The Cleveland Institute of Art after being inspired by the work of forensic artists who helped in a missing-person’s case. She earned her degree in Biomedical Illustration in 2011. Brooklyn worked with several hospitals, museums, and research facilities including the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, The Cleveland Botanical Gardens, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Case Western Reserve University, and Novelmed Therapeutics.
After 2011 Brooklyn moved throughout the country gaining artistic inspiration from various individuals she met through her street photography. After hearing all the incredible stories of those she encountered and drawing from her own personal experiences Brooklyn decided to switch her work’s focus back to her roots of figurative drawing and oil painting.
In 2019 Brooklyn understudied nationally acclaimed figurative sculptor, David Demming, where she learned techniques for creating large scale sculptures out of oil-based clay to be cast in bronze. That same year Brooklyn began taking welding courses for use in her sculptural work, learning techniques for MIG, STICK, and Plasma Cutting.
Brooklyn has won a variety of awards for her art since 2004. She recently was a semi-finalist for Figurtivas 2019 at the MEAM in Barcelona, Spain. Her work has been displayed in galleries and museums all over the country including the Makeshift Museum in Los Angeles, the Cleveland Institute of Art, the U.S. Capitol Building and Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C., The Alliance and Lichtundfire Galleries in New York, and the Diane von Furstenberg Studio. She currently resides in her hometown of Cleveland where she is represented by District Gallery and plans to further expand her artistic and humanitarian endeavors in the local, national, and international community.
