Photo by Lucas Kraft
Briar Mae Leonard is a multidisciplinary artist who uses material and memory to examine the aftermath of trauma; uncovering which parts of herself are truly her own and which are shaped by the past. Working in sculpture, fiber, and drawing, she analyzes how trauma seeps into her inner world - following the fragments of memory and decay as they shape her evolving self.
Within her metaphysical landscape, she fabricates a world of steel consumed by rust, delicate crochet textiles, tainted objects from her past, cloudy charcoal imagery, and the haunting motif of a fawn suspended in a state of eternal limbo. The deceased fawn serves as a threshold between childhood and adulthood - a gateway into her experiences as a woman, the loss of innocence, hypervigilance, and the fracturing of her identity. By revisiting the formative experiences that shaped her Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Leonard dissects what belongs to her and what was constructed in response to harm.
Leonard earned her BFA in Studio Art (Sculpture) from Texas State University in 2025 and has exhibited throughout Central Texas, including the FL3X Space and Mothership Studios.
EDUCATION
2025 | Bachelor of Fine Arts- Sculpture, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2026 - Present | Concrete Fabricator & Painter, GameTime, San Marcos, TX
2025 | Gallery Monitor, Texas State University Galleries, San Marcos, TX
2025 | Intern, ICOSA Collective, Austin, TX
2024 - 2025 | Student Studio Technician, Texas State University Sculpture Studio, San Marcos, TX
AWARDS
2024 | Herman Casey Memorial Fund in Sculpture, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 | Woven Fractures, Joann Cole Mitte Stairwell Gallery, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2025 | Sculpture Studio Exhibition: San Marcos Studio Tour, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026 | 4th Annual San Marcos Studio Tour, Mothership Studios, San Marcos, TX
2026 | San Marcos Studio Tour Group show, Mothership Studios, San Marcos, TX
2026 | Venus & Mars Were Lovers Too, Mothership Studios, San Marcos, TX
2025 | Alternate Instinct: BFA Thesis Show, TXST Galleries,Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
2025 | Now & Later , Joann Cole Mitte Yard, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
2025 | Group Art Show, Brick, San Antonio, TX
2025 | Under The Floorboards, Zelick’s Ice House, San Marcos, TX
2025 | 3rd Annual San Marcos Studio Tour, Mothership Studios, San Marcos, TX
2025 | San Marcos Studio Tour Group show, Mothership Studios, San Marcos, TX
2025 | Green Hills Rising, San Marcos Art League, San Marcos, TX
2025 | Take it From Nature, FL3X Space, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
2024 | Natural Art , Round Rock Arts, Round Rock, TX
2024 | Opulent Bonds: Bobcats & Beyond, San Marcos Art League, San Marcos, TX
2023 | Figuring Things In, ProjectART, Wimberley, TX
ARTIST TALKS
2025 | Woven Fractures: A Conversation with Briar Leonard, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
2024 | Third Thursday: Artist Talk with TXST Student Artists, San Marcos Art League, San Marcos, TX
PUBLICATIONS
Porter, Rebekah. TXST Stairwell Gallery opens, San Marcos Daily Record, 113th year no. 12, 2025.
Staff Reports. Briar Leonard presents “Woven Fractures”, a solo exhibition at TXST, San Marcos Daily Record, 113th year no. 11, 2025.
Honda, Ike, and Syd Perkinson. Briar Leonard: San Marcos Art League, April 4, 2024.
Photo by Catarina Covatta