Saskia Leek (New Zealand Pākehā) is a visionary contemporary painter whose intimate-scale works explore the intersections of amateur and canonical painting traditions. Celebrated for merging the incidental and the canonical, her art features modest scale and simple subject matter, inviting viewers to discover mystery and specificity within the familiar.

Born in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Saskia completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Canterbury University School of Fine Arts and later earned a Master of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland.

In 2009, Saskia gained notable recognition for her exhibition Yellow is the Putty of the World, which earned her a nomination for the prestigious Walters Prize. Her 2012 survey exhibition Desk Collection, curated by Emma Bugden for The Dowse, travelled extensively and showcased the breadth of her work. 

Saskia has been awarded the Olivia Spencer Bower Foundation Art Award and completed residencies at Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Govett Brewster Gallery. Her work has earned critical acclaim and is regularly featured in solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally, her pieces are collected by major institutions, including Te Papa, Auckland Art Gallery, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, and Christchurch Art Gallery.

Panel statement: “Saskia’s paintings open doors, encouraging us to find the magic and wonder in our everyday encounters. Her works are immediately recognisable – joyful, funny and tender images that interrogate and celebrate painting’s history and future. Always charting her own course, Saskia is a singular figure within her generation, and an inspiration to those who have followed her.” 

Thank you to Corner Store for helping us tell these stories of impact, and to these contributors to the video: Robert Heald Gallery, Ivan Anthony Jonathan Smart Gallery, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, and curator Natasha Conland.