The Rural We: Leah Guadagnoli
The Hillsdale artist uses her art and cooking for others as means to connection and healing.
“Everything is connected,” says artist and feast-producer Leah Guadagnoli. “There’s no hierarchy; all the things I do are just a system I’ve created to express my creativity.” Guadagnoli’s three-dimensional wall sculptures have been exhibited widely throughout the world. More recently, she has been expressing her creativity through her Fancy Feast Supper Club, a monthly event that brings people together through her globally inspired, themed dinners at her home, a former church in Hillsdale.
I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. After getting my MFA at Rutgers University, I moved to the city for about eight years. In 2018 I found and bought an old church in Hillsdale to use as a live/work space and homestead.
I make sculptural, abstract paintings that reflect my surroundings and personal history. When I started my garden here in Hillsdale, the forms became more whimsical and organic. After a residency in Kenya, I was influenced by the Swahili architecture there. My work is a visual diary, a way to translate the world around me. The paintings are made of insulation board and upholstery foam covered in canvas and then painted. All the surfaces are painted. The surfaces are mounted together like puzzle pieces. I want people to feel uplifted by the work. In my journey of cooking and making art, I realized that they are both a coping mechanism and a place of healing.
I've been fortunate to have many opportunities to exhibit my work. I just participated in Art Shanghai art fair, and have shows up in Marfa, Texas, and in New York at the Louise Nevelson Chapel. In January, I will exhibit in Nashville with Tinney Contemporary and start working on my next solo witht Hollis Taggart in NYC.
I’ve always loved to cook. Growing up with a supportive grandmother made space for me to be curious and creative. She gave me freedom in the kitchen. My father was rarely home at dinnertime and I used to envy my friends who would have dinner with their families every night. I wanted to have a family dinner, so I created a tradition. Every Friday we’d make pizza. I realized I could use food as a way to feel empowered and get what I needed as a child. I had my first supper club in high school. I needed the feeling of togetherness.
Fancy Feast Supper Club started organically after putting many elaborate dinners from my garden. Last August, I was asked to be a guest chef at The Pines in Mount Tremper last August. People responded really well to the food and menu. I kept the momentum and found it taking off. I had bought my house as a congregation area — it's a church, after all — and it’s really lived up to its expectations. I have an enormous garden and want to share the bounty with others. I have around 32 people for each dinner, and I do most of the cooking myself. I’ve had around seven public feasts, but I always make large dinners. I just did a Friendsgiving with 20 people.
For each dinner, we set up different configuration of tables. People are not only connecting through food, they’re actually becoming friends. I watch that happen as I make the food, seeing friendships being formed in front of my eyes. It’s magical.
My next dinner will be December 17, a Middle-Eastern mezze supper with a Persian flair. Part of the proceeds will go to United for Iran, a nonprofit group working for civil liberties in Iran. It is unfortunately sold out but stay tuned for details for the next dinner, which will take place on Saturday, January 21!
