EDUCATION:
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Master of Science in Elementary Education, May 2012
Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
Bachelor of Arts, May 2011
Concentrations: Art History and Language (Spanish)
Instituto Superior De Arte, Havana, Cuba
Apprenticeship with Alejandro Cordobés, 2009
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2023 Made Home, Canton Museum of Art, Canton, OH
2023 All The Right Places, Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, Philadelphia, PA
2022 Pastports, Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center, Hyattsville, MD
2022 Sold Separately, Hotel Indigo, Baltimore, MD
2021 Mildest Dreams, Luann Carra Gallery, Baltimore, MD
2020 In Pursuit of Happiness, Washington County Arts Council, Hagerstown, MD
2020 Expectation/Reality, The Art League, Alexandria, VA
2020 Papercut Polaroids, Soapbox Arts, Burlington, VT
2019 Then & Only, The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower, Baltimore, MD
2019 Perfectly Misunderstadnable, District Arts, Frederick, MD
2019 Between, Jubilee Arts, Baltimore, MD
2019 Gallery Takeover, Night Owl Gallery, Baltimore, MD
2019 Pigeons and Power Lines, Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick MD
2018 Half Truth, High 5 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2018 Papercut Pop Up, Ruckus Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2023 Agua, Casa Del Sol, Ajijic, Mexico
2022 Abundance, The American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, MD
2022 More Than Shelter, The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA
2022 Defaced/Enshrined, Artspace, Raleigh, NC
2022 Inhabit, The Park School Gallery, Baltimore, MD
2022 Let Me Tell You: Works By Women Artists, Taking Up Space, Chris White Gallery, Wilmington, DE
2022 City of Love, Neon Museum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
2022 Planet A, BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD
2022 Faculty Exhibition, The Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MD
2022 Remembrances, Recollections, and Retrospect, The Delaware Contemporary,
Wilmington, DE
2021 #mask: Creative Responses to the Global Pandemic, Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM
2021 Shanghai International Paper Art Biennale, The Fengxian Museum, Shanghai, China
2021 Spotlight: Putting Latina Artists Into The Spotlight, Motor House Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
2021 Monochrome, 311 Gallery, Raleigh, NC
2021 The Big Show, Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD
2021 Ordinary Objects, Extraordinary Times, District Arts, Frederick MD
2021 Out of Order: Annual Benefit Exhibition, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD (Virtual Exhibition)
2021 National Juried Exhibition, Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick MD
2021 Urban Landscapes, Beacon Gallery, Boston, MA
2020 Under 500, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
2020 Philadelphia’s Freedom, National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2020 Us: What Divides Us and What Unites Us?, Touchstone Gallery, Washington D.C. (Virtual Exhibition)
2020 Paper Works, The Mansion at Strathmore, N. Bethesda, MD
2020 Out of Order: Annual Benefit Exhibition, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD. (Virtual Exhibition)
2020 Women’s Caucus For Art Philadelphia: Black Lives Matter, Virtual Exhibition
2020 Colors of Hope, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
2020 National Juried Exhibition, Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick MD
2020 As It Should Be, Gallery CA, Baltimore, MD
2020 Artists in the time of Coronavirus, Artblog, Digital Exhibition
2020 Ten, Paradigm Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2020 January Open, The Art League at The Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA
2019 Under 500, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
2019 Mixture, Touchstone Gallery, Washington D.C.
2019 The Gift of Art, Torpedo Factory Artists @ Mosaic, Fairfax, VA
2019 Urban Tales, InSquare Gallery, Baltimore, MD
2019 Back and Forth, Van Landingham Gallery, Alexandria, VA
2019 Paper In Places, Gallery 3700, Arlington, VA
2019 July Open, The Art League at The Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA
2019 China-U.S.-Japan Paper-Cutting Exchange Exhibition, Xianyang Worker Art Gallery,
Xianyang, China
2019 South Philly: Pretty and Gritty, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
2019 May Open, The Art League at The Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA
*Honorable Mention for "Head In The Clouds"
2019 pa•per, Paradigm Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2019 Out of Order: Annual Benefit Exhibition, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
2018 Under 500, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
2018 The Food Container Project, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2018 December Open, The Art League at The Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA
2018 One House Project, BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD
2018 CraftNOW, The Kimmel Center, Philadelphia PA
2018 America Undone, Suzanne Roberts Theater & Mount Airy Art Garage, Philadelphia PA
2018 September Open, The Art League at The Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA
2018 What's Cooking?, Guild of American Papercutters' National Museum, Sommerset, PA
2018 Art Hop Takoma, Takoma, MD
2018 Out of Order: Annual Benefit Exhibition, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
2018 Making Israel Real, Temple Judea Museum, Elkins Park, PA
2018 International Variety, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2018 America From Sea To Shining Sea, Open Space Gallery, Rockville, MD
2017 Under The Knife, Hicks Art Center Gallery, Newtown, PA
2016 JOG 10: The 10th Anniversary Show, Philadelphia, PA
2016 City Arts Salon, Sharktown, Philadelphia, PA
2016 Rhapsody In Our Mind, Boston Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
COLLECTIONS
2021 Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM
2021 The Colored Girls' Museum, Philadelphia, PA
GRANTS & AWARDS:
2023 360 Xochi Quetzal BIPOC Residency, Chapala, Mexico
I am the first recipient of this annual prize which includes a one month live/work space in Chapala, Mexico and a travel stipend.
2022 Ringholz Art Supply Award, Jackson Hole, WY
Funds from this award will allow me to create a very large scale accordion book highlighting the environmental challenges facing Puerto Rico.
2021 Municipal Art Society of Baltimore Artist Travel Prize, Baltimore, MD
Funds from this award allowed me to spend a week in New York learning traditional Mexican papercutting from Blanka Amezkua. I then
spent a month in Puebla, Mexico learning from the master who taught her.
2021 Regional Independent Artist Award: Baltimore, MD
I was given this award by the Maryland State Arts Council in recognition of my promise and artistic achievement.
2021 Baltimore Office of Promotion and Art: Professional Development Grant, Baltimore, MD
Funds from this grant allowed me to purchase materials and modify my studio to be able to create large-scale works.
2020 The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, Philadelphia, PA
Funds from this grant will allow me to create a series of life-size papercut self-portraits in my various roles
demonstrating that not only can Black people be all things, but a single Black woman can be a dozen things all at once.
2020 Maryland State Arts Council, Baltimore, MD
The Council provided funding for me to attend The Guild of American Papercutters’ Conference which was canceled due
to Covid-19. The Council generously allowed me to use the grant to fund an upcoming exhibition.
2019 Maryland Arts Summit Scholarship, Baltimore, MD
Funding allowed me to attend the inaugural Maryland State Arts Summit to learn from and network with members of the
arts community throughout the state.
2017 Making Israel Real, The Philadelphia Jewish Federation, Philadelphia, PA
Funding allowed for the study of Jewish art history and creation of works in response to the
current state of Israel.
MEDIA:
Jenkins, Mark. “Review | In The Galleries: Rosa Leff.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 Jan. 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/01/20/art-gallery-shows-dc-area/.
Puig, Alicia. "Top 10 Tips For Plein Air." All She Makes, All She Makes, 13 August. 2021, www.allshemakes.org/blog/plein-air-tips.
Lee, Rob. “Rosa Leff.” Getting To The Truth In This Art Podcast, 9 Aug. 2021, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-to-the-truth-in-this-art-rosa-leff/id1497950772?i=1000531462386.
VoyageBaltimore. “Rising Stars: Meet Rosa Leff.” VoyageBaltimore Magazine | Baltimore's Most Inspiring Stories, 9 Aug. 2021, voyagebaltimore.com/interview/rising-stars-meet-rosa-leff-of-riverside/.
Editor of First Cut Magazine: A Publication of the Guild of American Papercutters, 2017- 2021.
Popova, Ekaterina. “Next Level Papercutting And Showing Up For Yourself In Bigger Ways With Rosa Leff” The Create! Podcast, 11 Jun. 2021, https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/next-level-paper-cutting-showing-up-for-yourself-in/id1390128131?i=1000525045658.
Jenkins, Mark. “Review | In the Galleries: Rosa Leff” The Washington Post, WP Company, 6 Nov. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/art-gallery-shows-dc/2020/11/05/b43111ce-1c77-11eb-90dd-abd0f7086a91_story.html.
"Job Fiesta" featured in "Taco Bell Quarterly, Volume 3 / Fall 2020." https://tacobellquarterly.org/volume-3-fall-2020/.
Johns, Carter. “Elevating Black Arts: Power of Penn Stories.” Power of Penn, The University of Pennsylvania, 18 Aug. 2020, https://powerofpenn.upenn.edu/elevating-black-arts/?utm_source=kfg&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=issue_20.
Zuccarini, Christy. "Rosa Leff: Hand Cut Paper Artist." Made In Isolation, 24 June 2020, www.madeinisolation.org/rosa-leff.
Kopf, Suzy. “Art AND: Rosa Leff.” BmoreArt, BmoreArt, 20 May 2020, https://bmoreart.com/2020/05/art-and-rosa-leff.html.
Harmon, Patti. “Sarah Lawrence Alumni Magazine.” Sarah Lawrence Alumni Magazine, 2020, p. 61.
https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/magazine/mind-the-gap/alumni/gallery.html.
Jenkins, Mark. “Review | In the Galleries: Places In Paper.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 28 Nov. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/in-the-galleries-at-american-university-museum-a-world-of-atmosphere/2019/11/27/1f8ddf88-0f9a-11ea-9cd7-a1becbc82f5e_story.html.
Maiorano, Grace. “New Exhibition at Paradigm Explores the Possibility of Paper.” South Philly Review, 29 Apr. 2019, southphillyreview.com/2019/04/29/new-exhibition-at-paradigm-explores-the-possibility-of-paper/.
Krysa, Danielle. “pa-per {a group show}." The Jealous Curator /// Curated Contemporary Art, 23 Apr. 2019, www.thejealouscurator.com/blog/.
Sierzputowski, Kate. “Imitation China Plates and Layered Cut Paper Animals Explore the Sculptural Potential of Paper in a New Exhibition at Paradigm Gallery.” Colossal, 19 Apr. 2019, www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/04/paper-paradigm-gallery/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%2Bcolossal%2B%28Colossal%29.
Frisone, Nick. “Q&A: Rosa Leff.” Baltimore Media Blog, 2 Apr. 2019, baltimoremediablog.com/2019/04/qa-rosa-leff/.
Roach, Imani. “Rosa Leff Talks About Contemporary Cut Paper.” Artblog, 11 Nov. 2018, https://www.theartblog.org/2018/11/rosa-leff-talks-about-contemporary-cut-paper/.
Leff, Rosa. “One Piece Of My Papercut Art Takes Up To 80 Hours To Make.” Bored Panda, Bored Panda, 15 July 2017, www.boredpanda.com/this-is-what-happens-when-you-spend-80-hours-cutting-holes-in-a-sheet-of-paper/.
Leff, Rosa. “In Reflection.” Https://www.thepaulreview.com/, PAUL: Philadelphia Arts and Urban Literary Review, 1 Apr. 2017, www.thepaulreview.com/.
Laudenslager, Evan Paul. “Landscapes of Shadow and Line.” Artblog, 9 July 2016, www.theartblog.org/2016/07/landscapes-of-shadow-and-line-rosa-leffs-papercuts-at-boston-street-gallery/.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
2021-Present Member, The Paper Artist Collective
2019- Present Member, Xianyang Papercutters Association, Xianyang, China
2020- 2022 Member, Women's Caucus for Art, National Organization
2019- 2020 Member, Gallery 75, Alexandria, VA
2019- 2020 Member, Torpedo Factory Artists' Association, Alexandria, VA
2018- Present Vice President of Digital Communications, Guild of American Papercutters, Somerset, PA
2018- 2020 Member, The Art League, Alexandria, VA
2017- Present Member, Guild of American Papercutters, Somerset, PA