Capturing the essence of travel, the diary/sketchbook reflects June Leaf's 1970 journey through Japan, blending real and imagined experiences. With pencil and ink drawings, paintings, and collages, she conveys the joy and challenges of exploration. Scenes range from actual landscapes and portraits to visions of paradise, intertwining image and text to mirror her evolving impressions. The book's design closely resembles the original, immersing readers in Leaf's creative and introspective world.
The book showcases June Leaf's kinetic sculptures, which come to life with minimal interaction, embodying a sense of movement and whimsy. Leaf describes her creations as drawings in three dimensions, where materials like brass, copper, tin, and wood intertwine to form playful figures and imaginative contraptions. Inspired by the spirit of Jean Tinguely, her work emphasizes the dynamic relationship between art and process, reflecting her perspective as both a dancer and aviator in the artistic realm.
„June Leaf’s extraordinary body of work—one built over nearly seven decades—belongs within a long tradition of visionary figures, from William Blake and Francisco Goya to James Ensor and Odilon Redon. Like these innovative predecessors, and fusing elements of both Expressionism and Surrealism, Leaf creates representational imagery with an intense subjectivity and personal symbolist vision. Leaf’s fundamental interest in metamorphosis and states of becoming as subjects is paralleled in her working process. As imaginary as the artist’s world is, her practice is deeply corporeal, materially rich, and firmly rooted the in physicality of the objects and mediums she uses. Leaf tends to work daily, driven by instinct and intuition. She sometimes invents new themes and motifs, but these often arise organically out of older ones, and the array of subjects she’s developed over the years remain close and ready for revisiting or adapting.“ Carter Foster, Steven and Ann Ames Curator of Drawing, Whitney Museum of American Art