To produce new work for Surprisingly Natural Leah Oates explored Van Cortlandt Park and Pelham Bay Park. In these sprawling and ecologically diverse parks she seeks out the interstices where nature thrives alongside human intervention and activity. Presented as light boxes, the images capture views that reveal the beauty to be discovered by the intrepid explorer. Images such as Van Cortlandt 4 demonstrate how she has mastered the technique of producing compelling images through multiple exposures rather than post-production computer manipulation. This work continues her Transitory Spaces series that is concerned with overlooked areas where human intervention contributes to the abandonment. She photographs with a Mamiya medium format camera and produces Duratran films that are installed in light boxes.

Leah Oates has exhibited extensively with solo exhibitions at Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT; A Taste of Art Gallery, New York, NY; the Abrons Art Center at the Henry Street Settlement, New York, NY; and the Sol Mednick Gallery, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA; and Sara Nightingale Gallery, Water Mill, NY. She has traveled widely and participated in international residencies such as NYArts China Residency, Beijing China; The Taipei International Artists Village, Taipei Taiwan; and Pouch Cove & James Baird Foundation, St. Johns Newfoundland, Canada. She studied in Scotland through a Fulbright Fellowship. She frequently curates and writes about contemporary artists. She earned a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

More information can be found at www.leahoates.com.