Artist Statement

                                                                          

Bottom Up

"There are two great tragedies in life. The first is not getting what you want, and the second is getting it." Oscar Wilde

My practice revolves around the similarities between pain and pleasure. According to Jacques Lacan desire can never be fully satisfied. A constant chase for satisfaction becomes the base of existence, fueled by a lack of internal fulfilment and obstructed by limited resources. Why do we want the things we want? Why does the force of desire lead to pleasurable and painful outcomes? Why do we deny ourselves joy? These questions are not only posed in my artistic work but are part of my spiritual life.

Science shows that animals feel something akin to desire, too – even distinguishing between modes of wanting and liking. In my work, I merge the most vulnerable groups of both species: baby domesticated animals or Nutztiere (eng. utilize-animals) and baby humans. At times, they want to interact sexually, but their expression hints at feelings linking shame and complete innocence.

The animals and babies are constantly negotiating objectification and agency. Their defenselessness and dependency on nourishment make them a playground for projection. An element of sadism lurks in the works, dulled by the cuteness at play. Cuteness and artificiality are common modes of the creator and the consumer. Sianne Ngai states that “cuteness is not just an aestheticization but an eroticization of powerlessness, evoking tenderness for ‘small things’ but also, sometimes, a desire to belittle or diminish them further.”  The odd hybrids and artificial proportions in my work become a foundation for exploration of one‘s own inner life.

The way I approach my practice is through bottom-up thinking (building the whole from parts). It is also a position many of the figures literally take in the works. Beyond the literal viewpoint, I base my research on high and low forms of knowledge, spanning fields like psychology, philosophy, archaeology, witchcraft, power dynamics, abjection, toys and collectibles, environmentalism, consumerism, porn culture and phenomena like Kitsch and camp.

Though bound to figuration, my work is inherently aesthetically inconsistent. The materials I work with merge natural and artificial qualities. Manganese clay is poisonous before being fired in the kiln. The paintings are made with heavily diluted oil paint. While maintaining a fleshy color palette, the painting medium is a synthetic substance to enhance flow which creates a glossy, product-like finish.

Humans made other animals a commodity. Both their imagery and bodies are up for consumption as units of production. Animals in current ideology have become a flat concept and raw material divorced from being autonomous living beings. This illusion of separation between species is described by Donna Haraway. When humans deny animals their agency, they overlook that their own lives are bound up with those of other species. My work reinforces proof that there is a profound connection between human beings and all animals.

Artist Bio

Leonie Specht (*1994) is a German artist based in Athens. Traditionally trained as a painter, her practice spans a range of mediums including oil paint, watercolor and drawing. In sculpture, she works mainly with clay, making small sized ceramic bodies that reminiscent of toys and collectibles. Upcoming sculpture projects will include bronze and marble.

Leonie Specht will finish her degree (diploma) at Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach, Germany in early 2026. She studied at Seoul National University, South Korea (2020) where she was trained in traditional ink painting, Accademia di belle Arti di Brera Milan, Italy (2022) where human anatomy was at the core of her curriculum and at Athens School of Fine Arts Καλών Τεχνών, Greece where she received training in iconography painting and mosaic. Prior to pursuing art, she went to design school for four years.

Her artistic practice is deeply rooted in her spiritual life, art-making being the focus of her daily rituals. Her core method is researching special interests thoroughly and bringing together different themes that have accompanied her for years. Reoccurring topics like the uncanny, artificiality, desire, pain, animals and human psychology are closely tied to the topics that concern her own inner world.

Specht has had exhibitions with Galerie Hanna Bekker vom Rath (Frankfurt), Expanded.art (Berlin) and Buero Wolff Jordan (Berlin). Her work has appeared widely in press, among it Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Schön! Magazin and KubaParis. She has an upcoming show with Alkinois Athens and will show again with Galerie Hanna Bekker vom Rath in 2026.

Artist Statement

                                                                          

Bottom Up

"There are two great tragedies in life. The first is not getting what you want, and the second is getting it." Oscar Wilde

My practice revolves around the similarities between pain and pleasure. According to Jacques Lacan desire can never be fully satisfied. A constant chase for satisfaction becomes the base of existence, fueled by a lack of internal fulfilment and obstructed by limited resources. Why do we want the things we want? Why does the force of desire lead to pleasurable and painful outcomes? Why do we deny ourselves joy? These questions are not only posed in my artistic work but are part of my spiritual life.

Science shows that animals feel something akin to desire, too – even distinguishing between modes of wanting and liking. In my work, I merge the most vulnerable groups of both species: baby domesticated animals or Nutztiere (eng. utilize-animals) and baby humans. At times, they want to interact sexually, but their expression hints at feelings linking shame and complete innocence.

The animals and babies are constantly negotiating objectification and agency. Their defenselessness and dependency on nourishment make them a playground for projection. An element of sadism lurks in the works, dulled by the cuteness at play. Cuteness and artificiality are common modes of the creator and the consumer. Sianne Ngai states that “cuteness is not just an aestheticization but an eroticization of powerlessness, evoking tenderness for ‘small things’ but also, sometimes, a desire to belittle or diminish them further.”  The odd hybrids and artificial proportions in my work become a foundation for exploration of one‘s own inner life.

The way I approach my practice is through bottom-up thinking (building the whole from parts). It is also a position many of the figures literally take in the works. Beyond the literal viewpoint, I base my research on high and low forms of knowledge, spanning fields like psychology, philosophy, archaeology, witchcraft, power dynamics, abjection, toys and collectibles, environmentalism, consumerism, porn culture and phenomena like Kitsch and camp.

Though bound to figuration, my work is inherently aesthetically inconsistent. The materials I work with merge natural and artificial qualities. Manganese clay is poisonous before being fired in the kiln. The paintings are made with heavily diluted oil paint. While maintaining a fleshy color palette, the painting medium is a synthetic substance to enhance flow which creates a glossy, product-like finish.

Humans made other animals a commodity. Both their imagery and bodies are up for consumption as units of production. Animals in current ideology have become a flat concept and raw material divorced from being autonomous living beings. This illusion of separation between species is described by Donna Haraway. When humans deny animals their agency, they overlook that their own lives are bound up with those of other species. My work reinforces proof that there is a profound connection between human beings and all animals.

Artist Bio

Leonie Specht (*1994) is a German artist based in Athens. Traditionally trained as a painter, her practice spans a range of mediums including oil paint, watercolor and drawing. In sculpture, she works mainly with clay, making small sized ceramic bodies that reminiscent of toys and collectibles. Upcoming sculpture projects will include bronze and marble.

Leonie Specht will finish her degree (diploma) at Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach, Germany in early 2026. She studied at Seoul National University, South Korea (2020) where she was trained in traditional ink painting, Accademia di belle Arti di Brera Milan, Italy (2022) where human anatomy was at the core of her curriculum and at Athens School of Fine Arts Καλών Τεχνών, Greece where she received training in iconography painting and mosaic. Prior to pursuing art, she went to design school for four years.

Her artistic practice is deeply rooted in her spiritual life, art-making being the focus of her daily rituals. Her core method is researching special interests thoroughly and bringing together different themes that have accompanied her for years. Reoccurring topics like the uncanny, artificiality, desire, pain, animals and human psychology are closely tied to the topics that concern her own inner world.

Specht has had exhibitions with Galerie Hanna Bekker vom Rath (Frankfurt), Expanded.art (Berlin) and Buero Wolff Jordan (Berlin). Her work has appeared widely in press, among it Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Schön! Magazin and KubaParis. She has an upcoming show with Alkinois Athens and will show again with Galerie Hanna Bekker vom Rath in 2026.