Discover Leyla Rebecca art

Hi, I’m Leyla! I’m a Turkish-American visual artist based in NYC. I’m a rising senior at Davidson College majoring in Studio Art and Philosophy. 

Alongside my studio practice, I write songs and play the ukulele and piano as a way of processing my inner landscape and making sense of the world around me.

My creative work is rooted in curiosity, intuition, and experimentation. I also love yoga, metaphysics, cats, and making new friends!

My practice is rooted in play as a method of creation. I begin by working quickly and without judgment, allowing intuition, movement, and emotion to lead before thought or refinement. These unfiltered moments are not preparatory sketches, but essential spaces where energy, feeling, and form emerge freely.

I work across painting, sculpture, mixed media, and digital platforms, often moving between fast mark-making and slower, more deliberate construction. This back-and-forth  sustains my work. When a piece becomes too controlled or fixed, I return to experimentationthrough erasure, layering, or disruption to keep the surface alive.

My imagery is often abstracted and driven by bodily memory, emotion, and rhythm rather than representation. I’m interested in how intuitive marks can hold seriousness without heaviness, and how simplicity can carry depth.

At its core, my work treats play not as escape, but as discipline, a way of resisting perfectionism, reclaiming time, and staying in contact with what is immediate and real.