There is a common perception that the physical and the virtual exist at polar opposites. Things are either real or virtual. Implicitly this relationship is of a shadow to reality, an imitation to the real thing, superior to inferior. And yet, there has always existed a human desire to see and admire the image, even finding ways of getting inside and experiencing the virtual from within. This desire and ultimately the embodiment of the digital is a central theme in Leister's paintings, animations, installations and interactive performances. Through digital processes, virtually any kind of reality can be created using the same kind of formulas found in nature itself. Winds and fluids can be simulated digitally and brought to the surface through simulations of light and shadow. Movements of corporeal bodies can be translated into sound and image. By simultaneously pulling the viewer into a piece and pushing the digital process out into the physical Leister is negotiating for a space somewhere in between. Leister currently works from his studio in Denver, Colorado and is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Denver where he teaches Digital Design. He received a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA in Art and Visual Technology from George Mason University. His work has been commissioned for the covers of many national and international magazines, including Time, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Der Spiegel and the Atlantic Monthly. He has won over 100 awards from competitions such as Communication Arts Illustration Annual, the Art Directors Club of Washington DC, the Illustrators Club of Washington DC, AIGA, PRINT and a gold and silver medal from the Society of Illustrators in NYC. His paintings are in the collections of The Museum of American Art, The District of Columbia Historical society, Kohler, Celestial Seasonings, James River Paper Company, Blue Cross Blue Shields and many private collections. His new media installation and video work has been exhibited throughout the Washington DC region including shows at the The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Provisions Gallery, The Pyramid Atlantic gallery and the Arlington Arts Center. Temporal Interference, a collaboration with the Jane Franklin Dance Company, was performed this spring at The Kennedy Center Millenium Stage.
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