Eleftheria Easley
Springfield, VA
Northern Virginia based collage artist, Eleftheria Easley, unlocks the beauty and potential of collected items and invites the viewer to share a connection.
Message
NOVA-based collage artist Eleftheria Easley has created mixed media works since occupying her first studio space, a high-chair piled high with her family’s drafting tools and sewing notions. This formative environment fostered her resourcefulness and exploration of papers and textiles such as architectural design chroma paper and fabric scraps as raw materials for making art. Her representational, patterned and abstract pieces unlock the beauty and limitless potential of juxtaposed items and invite the viewer to share a connection through the materials and the associations they evoke.
Earning her BFA in Graphic Design at Boston University, Eleftheria has lived in the United States, Europe and Asia. In addition to exhibiting, she teaches workshops and supports local galleries with curation, installation and staffing. Recently, her work was selected for: the fall 2025 issue of Fiber Art Now’s Paper Made II international competition and the on-site exhibition at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, WMATA Rosslyn Metro Station beautification efforts, and a solo show at the mosaicARTS Gallery. In addition, her work was also reviewed by Mark Jenkins at the Washington Post for Alliance Gallery’s inaugural exhibit Ad Astra Per Aspera, and she represented the Artists’ Undertaking Gallery on the PBS/WETA television show, “If You Lived Here.” She is a member of arts organizations including the Arlington Artists Alliance and Torpedo Factory Art League Gallery, as well as the global network, Women United Art Movement.
Statement
Cultural exchange inspires me because I believe that when we absorb the influence of a particular experience we also leave an imprint. The purpose of my work is to promote connectivity with the viewer by offering unexpectedly recognizable materials within my art and my mechanism is storytelling through mixed media collage. Each piece of art tells a tale informed by the origins of the bits and pieces used to build tactile layers into a cohesive visual. Collecting modern, vintage and antique supplies is a treasure hunt through daily life encompassing simple moments and diverse places. I merge papers, textiles and found items from around the world, by cutting and shaping them to reveal the observable links that dynamically join and contrast them. I sometimes secure the collage elements with liquid adhesive, simple hand-stitches, or metal brads, depending upon the piece and its background surface. I up-cycle ephemera alongside artisan materials, promoting sustainability and the use of otherwise overlooked treasures, so that the potential of each item can be reimagined within a new context while also reducing waste. Items with a history add discernible richness to the imagery, depth to its meaning and underscore our human need to belong and be seen. At once deeply personal and widely relatable, my art invites the viewer into a world that resonates with possibility and discovery.