Overview

“Leslie’s ignition was brilliant, and the subsequent years of work have continued to amaze and delight lovers of ‘high-octane’ abstraction.”  

Chester Arnold, illusionistic oil painter 

Leslie Allen is an American artist whose intrinsic connection with the Rio Grande U.S./Mexico border defines and inspires her every stroke. Born in New Mexico and raised in El Paso, her work has been described as “high-octane abstraction” for its daring colors and gestures that mimic the diversity of the vast desert landscape, as well as the tensions of a political border. Leslie lives and works in Sausalito, California and her works reside in private and public collections throughout the United States as well as in London, Toulouse, Dusseldorf, Berlin, and Bern.

Works
  • Leslie Allen, Which Way, 2025
    Which Way, 2025
  • Leslie Allen, Road Trip Blues, 2025
    Road Trip Blues, 2025
  • Leslie Allen, A Moment of Sweetness, 2025
    A Moment of Sweetness, 2025
  • Leslie Allen, Blacktop Valley, 2024
    Blacktop Valley, 2024
  • Leslie Allen, Aspiring Dynasty, 2025
    Aspiring Dynasty, 2025
  • Leslie Allen, Across the Pond, 2024
    Across the Pond, 2024
  • Leslie Allen, Freefall, 2025
    Freefall, 2025
  • Leslie Allen, Road Trip - Back Seat, 2025
    Road Trip - Back Seat, 2025
  • Leslie Allen, Road Trip - Front Seat, 2025
    Road Trip - Front Seat, 2025
  • Leslie Allen, Tunnels, 2025
    Tunnels, 2025
  • Leslie Allen, Watermelon Season, 2018
    Watermelon Season, 2018
  • Leslie Allen, Equals One, 2024
    Equals One, 2024
  • Leslie Allen, Napa Oxbow Market, 2024
    Napa Oxbow Market, 2024
  • Leslie Allen, Oxbow & Pink Mountain, 2024
    Oxbow & Pink Mountain, 2024
  • Leslie Allen, Rooftop Lime Tree, 2024
    Rooftop Lime Tree, 2024
  • Leslie Allen, Summer Surprised II, 2023
    Summer Surprised II, 2023
  • Leslie Allen, Wavy Terrain, 2024
    Wavy Terrain, 2024
  • Leslie Allen, Bottles Blades & Shop Vac, 2023
    Bottles Blades & Shop Vac, 2023
  • Leslie Allen, Lovers Vice Versa II, 2023
    Lovers Vice Versa II, 2023
  • Glacial Drift by Leslie Allen, which is a large blue painting depicting water
    Glacial Drift, an elegy, 2020
  • Honey I'm Home by Leslie Allen, abstract yellow painting
    Honey, I'm Home, 2022
  • Julep at Sunset by Leslie Allen, abstract painting with orange and teal
    Julep at Sunset, 2021
  • Leslie Allen, Marinship Groove, 2020
    Marinship Groove, 2020
  • Oh Lady Be Good by Leslie Allen, geometric abstract painting
    Oh Lady Be Good: BeBop, 2021
  • Leslie Allen, Rain Glory, 2013
    Rain Glory, 2013
  • White Flask by Leslie Allen, which is a large square abstract painting
    White Flask Dance, 2021
Biography

Leslie Allen (b.1954) is an American artist whose intrinsic connection with the Rio Grande U.S./Mexico border defines and inspires her every stroke. Born in New Mexico and raised in El Paso, her work has been described as “high-octane abstraction” for its daring colors and gestures that mimic the diversity of the vast desert landscape, as well as the tensions of a political border. Her works knit together an expression of the region’s deluge of contrasts: crimson southwestern sunsets to the blackest of nights, a blistering, still heat against the vibrant buzz of Juarez, delicate cactus blossoms, and the majestic Franklin Mountains. 

 

That Allen’s improvisational style is also driven by music is no coincidence; she is an impassioned cellist in the College of Marin Symphony Orchestra. She uses brushes, knives, brayers and blades with outstretched arms to compose each piece; whether geometric, lyrical, figurative or monotype it all coalesces into an oeuvre of expressive abstraction. 

 

Allen credits Mark Adams (watercolorist and master weaver), Thomas Marsh (classical sculptor), and Chester Arnold (illusionist oil painter) as her greatest mentors. It was Arnold who urged her to abandon the delicate watercolors of her earliest exhibits for the bolder commitment of oils, and in doing so she unleashed the full amalgam of her borderland culture, her penchant for small-plane topographical exploration, and her rich life experiences. 

 

Today, Leslie Allen lives and works in Sausalito, California. She is represented by Kennedy Contemporary in Newport Beach and Seager Gray Gallery in Mill Valley. Her works reside in private and public collections throughout the United States as well as in London, Toulouse, Dusseldorf, Berlin, and Bern.

Press
Exhibitions
Enquire

Send me more information on Leslie Allen

Please fill in the fields marked with an asterisk
By submitting this form you will be added to our mailing list.

* denotes required fields

In order to respond to your enquiry, we will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.