With a residency at Modern West Fine Art and an exhibition at Finch Lane Gallery, BFA Art student Aïsha Lehmann is ready for her work to meet a larger audience.
For a young artist still in school, dreams of gallery representation and residencies may seem like distant goals. Typically these opportunities are reserved for working artists with an established track record. Representation from a commercial gallery is an established avenue for artists to exhibit and sell their work to buyers and collectors. These opportunities come along rarely, and are dependent on a gallerist finding a resonance between their audience and an artist's work. Residencies are another sought-after professional opportunity, as they include the gifts of studio space, dedicated work time, and sometimes funding or other resources to help artists pursue objects of research. It's very uncommon for students, particularly undergraduates to receive chances like these, but it's not impossible. The right circumstances were in place for BFA student Aïsha Lehmann (class of 2022). In the spring of 2021, with some help from associate professor Fidalis Buehler, Lehmann had just such an opportunity with Modern West Fine Art Gallery in Salt Lake City.
Modern West Fine Art was originally opened in 2014 and carved a lane for itself with its marketing of traditional landscape paintings of the American west. However, under the leadership of Diane Stewart, an important fixture of the Salt Lake City art community, the gallery saw a change in location and direction. The new Modern West’s mission was to shine a light on both established and emerging contemporary artists from all backgrounds, making all kinds of work. In early 2021, Fidalis Buehler (himself an artist on the gallery’s roster) gave them a tip on some potential new talent. Lehmann, then a junior in the studio art program, recalls how it all came to fruition: “The gallery had been looking over its list of represented artists for prospective candidates. Something unique about this residency is Modern West’s focus on emerging artists along with their professional artists; I think I got the timing just right to be added into their roster.”
“I had a show up in the HFAC called No Mixing, and it was all about housing segregation. I showed it to Fidalis, and he told me he thought I was ready for gallery representation… And about three weeks later, they reached out to me and asked if I was interested in working with them. After talking with Fidalis, they reached out with the opportunity for a residency, in addition to gallery representation.”Lehmann’s work is informed by her experience coming from a mixed-race background, taking inspiration from relationships with her family and members of her community. Using intricate and overlapping printmaking techniques, she creates lovingly considerate portraits at immense scale. Her BFA thesis exhibition, Mixed, was on display at Finch Lane Gallery in Salt Lake late last year. These large-scale portraits with ornate floral and patterned details were produced in the midst of a transition of styles for Lehmann; previously, her images were printed on modest-sized printmaking papers and depicted wider compositions of bustling community scenes.
Community is an integral element to Lehmann’s artistic practice. Beyond the personal angle of representation of herself and her cohort, the work seeks to engage in community discussions around race in an environment where those discussions are uncommon. This quality in particular was of interest to Modern West, since an interest in social issues and community outreach was one of the factors shaping their newly developed residency program. “Modern West is more focused on community outreach; what I mean by that is the expectation was on me to make work as I wanted, and that they would work locally to get it into the hands of the community. Because of their focus on that element, other opportunities like community talks and workshops came to fruition,” Lehmann said of the partnership. “My work is already geared towards working with communities, to a certain extent. Being able to make the work that I already make, and then getting it into the hands of the people around me, that is a really gratifying experience.”
As comfortable a match as the residency was for Lehmann, it was not without its challenges. Both residencies and gallery representation involve major responsibilities and time commitments. The expectation to be consistently and publicly producing aesthetically consistent work, a daily commute from Orem to Salt Lake City, and anxiety about performing professionally were trials enough to keep Lehmann on her toes. “It reminded me of my senior year of high school; I was made the captain of the varsity soccer team. As soon as it happened, I started playing so badly… But the year before, when I was a junior, I had performed really well. The experience of people watching me with that pressure, I think the same kind of effect happened in that gallery.”
Despite the worries surrounding her time at Modern West, Lehmann was well-prepared. She knew her own resilience, she had the support of the community around her, and she had experiences in classes at BYU to draw from. Modern West’s accommodations and opportunities were dovetailed with those experiences. Lehmann noted a particularly helpful course taken from one of last year’s Visiting Instructors, Madeline Rupard: “From a mentorship point of view, Madeline Rupard’s business practices class made a huge impact. She showed us in a concrete, tangible way: here is how you can be an artist and make money, and that that is valid. Until then, I had a pretty narrow idea of what an artist could be, and it was all about commodifying a product; her class showed me that I can make my art work for me, without it simply becoming a commodity.”
In addition to this course, she was prepared by the mentorship offered by her BFA committee: “My BFA committee was also fantastic; I worked with Fidalis, Jen [Watson], and Collin [Bradford]… Each of these professors, when they are with me, spend so much time and give so much care. I would say they took me under their wing, but it feels more like they brought me up as their peer in the art world…they put me in a state of mind where I already was a professional, and they would hold me to those standards.”
Though her path was unique, Lehmann’s experience demonstrates how seemingly daunting goals may not be so distant. With perseverance, guidance, and some luck, professional opportunities are within reach. “This whole process has been a little terrifying, very humbling, but more than anything else it has pushed me to where I should and could be. It forced me to step up to the plate in a lot of ways, but it was so important for me, and this program helped me to be as ready as I possibly could have been.” You can find works by Aïsha Lehmann here.