Inspire Talks 2025: Jean Kondo Weigl in conversation with Leslie Bowen

Saturday March 1, 2025,11:00 AM

Are you an artist? Do you enjoy looking at art or making your own? Find

your community at FAVA (Firelands Association for the Visual Arts) in

Oberlin by attending the new Artist Talk series, Inspire 2025.

Three Artist Talks will be featured on the first Saturday of February, March,

and April, at 11:00 AM, in FAVA’s gallery located at 39 S. Main Street in

Oberlin. The events are offered free of charge with beverages and snacks

available.

The next artist talk in the Inspire 2025 series will be held on 1 March

2025, 11:00 AM:

Jean Kondo Weigl in conversation with Leslie Bowen

Jean Kondo Weigl

A third generation Japanese American artist currently living in Oberlin,

Jean Kondo Weigl has taught in a variety of settings, most recently at

FAVA and Lorain Community College. With a BA in Art from Scripps

College, MA in Studio Art from Oberlin College, and an MFA in Painting

and Drawing from the University of Utah, Weigl has seen her paintings

exhibited broadly. In her words, the work is “about balance between

formal and pictorial elements and the depiction of narratives

commingling memory, imagination, allegory and authenticity.” Weigl

cites her heritage, personal experiences, and her family, as strong

influences on her work.

Leslie Bowen

A long-time friend and colleague of Jean Kondo Weigl, Leslie Bowen

majored in art history at McGill University, and then worked at the Alpha

Gallery, Boston, while continuing the study of painting with a variety of

artists. Bowen sites Milton Avery and Fairfield Porter as important

influences, along with more contemporary artists working in the same

tradition. She and her husband travel regularly to their home on Achill

Island, Ireland, whose natural beauty provides inspiration in abundance

to her work.