Originally from Williamsburg, Virginia, Leyla Akdogan moved to Los Angeles to pursue her Bachelor's in Fine Arts at the University of Southern California. After graduation & a summer abroad studying
art history & Italian she went to Manhattan to study jewelry
design at the Gemological Institute of America.
Back in LA she began designing for the family business with
her father, a master jeweler from Istanbul, Turkey.
The mod-baroque pieces she envisioned soon began
to appear on the long limbed girls of her i
illustrative, pop-surrealist paintings.
Seeking a quiet place to work, Leyla relocated
to the tiny countryside town of Lacoste, France
in 2005 where she studied illustration at
SCAD University's extension campus &
managed the private gallery of
renowned illustrator Daniel Adel.
She returned to Los Angeles in
the summer of 2007 & continued her studies,
taking graphic novel illustration at
Art Center in Pasadena.
She began showing in events & galleries
around town including Gallery Nucleus,
C.A.V.E. Gallery, Create:Fixate &
Cannibal Flower. In 2008 she became a
resident artist at The Hive Gallery & Studios in
Downtown LA (Best Gallery/Downtown News
2007) where she had her first Featured Artist
show this past July.
Leyla's work has recently been
featured on the Summer 2010 cover of
Pop Surrealism Magazine &
on LA Artstream.
In the fall of 2010 Leyla
along with musician/
composer Sean Hoffman
(American Music Club/
Bedroom Walls) released
a record for their art pop
collaboration Loch&Key.
Along with singing and
co-writing the songs, Leyla
created the artwork for
the album (released as
hand-stamped limited editions)
as well as companion paintings f
or each of the songs.
(www.LochandKey.net)
These days Leyla spends most
of her time between the
rolling hills of Echo Park
and the shifting cityscape of
downtown LA creating intricate
worlds in watercolor & ink
inspired greatly by myth, fairytale,
and vigilant daydreaming.
