ROZ
LeCOMPTE
If art allows you to see through the eyes of the artist,
Rozalyn LeCompte’s eyes are kaleidoscopes.
The world looks back at you in
bright shades of pink and turquoise
– there is no fear of color here –
and in shapes both abstract and universally recognizable.
What may appear as an orderless mosaic turns out to be a stylized family of symbols moored
in LeCompte’s personal mythology.
The end game isn’t chaos or choose-your-own-adventure art;
in fact, LeCompte’s work is bringing sharp focus
to the world at-large,
distilling human experience into symbols and stories
that are sometimes ancient and always familiar.
The art of South Louisiana has its own vocabulary of
moss-draped oaks, alligators, blue dogs, and stilted houses.
Roz LeCompte adds confidently to this
Southern lexicon with symbols no less familiar
– handheld fans, teacups, candles, snakes, the swamp lotus.
She is clearly inspired by her mysterious swampy homeland
and the stories its nature and people carry,
and her work deftly explores the
Southerner’s infatuation with adornments and rituals.
LeCompte is self-taught,
tapping her intuition and fostering
a natural sense of play felt throughout her work.
It’s easy to imagine the artist as a young girl
painting teacups and flowers and snakes on her studio floor.
But the femininity and fragility in her art
impart serious whimsy,
the kind of play that
breaks you open and makes you free again.
LeCompte’s lack of formal training
makes room for bona fide naïveté;
she is simply (and stunningly)
seeing the world and eating it alive
and synthesizing the experience into every medium
she can get her hands on.
BIO WRITTEN BY BROOKE BROUSSARD
SOUTHERN DRAMATURG
EXHIBITIONS / PUBLICATIONS
2024 COUNTRY ROADS MAGAZINE OCTOBER MYTHS & LEGENDS FEATURE INTERVIEW / MISSISSIPPI + LOUISIANA
2024 BOLD JOURNEY ONLINE MAGAZINE INTERVIEW SEPTEMBER ISSUE