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 to process emotions and make sense of the world around me. I also love yoga, metaphysics, cats, and spirituality. 

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 where energy, feeling, and form emerge freely.

I work across painting, sculpture, mixed media, and digital platforms. When a piece becomes too controlled or fixed, I return to experimentation through erasure, layering, or disruption to keep the surface alive.

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.