Leslie Glenn Damhus is an oil painter whose work draws on religious iconography and mythology, blending contemporary cultural references with the visual language of the Quattrocento. Central to her practice is an exploration of opposites — beauty and ugliness, sacred and profane, solemn and playful, meaningful and trivial.

Her paintings are intricately detailed and symbolically layered. Fables, art history, and fragments of childhood memory intertwine within carefully staged compositions populated by curious animals, lush flora and fauna, and richly patterned textiles. These immersive scenes reward close looking, revealing subtle narrative threads and visual echoes.

A sharp, understated humour runs through the work, gently disrupting the reverence of Renaissance imagery with a mischievous, quietly subversive tone.

Based in Frome, Somerset, Glenn Damhus was elected a Royal West of England Academician at the Royal West of England Academy in 2018. She has served on Council and selection committees and contributed to major exhibitions. Highlights include curating exhibitions, delivering artist talks, producing cover artwork and posters for the Academy, and exhibiting widely across the South West and London.

She holds an Honours Degree in Fine Art from the University of the West of England, Bristol.

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Leda and the attack of the swans: Leda and the Attack of the Swans was first shown in 2018 during Leslie Glenn Damhus's solo exhibition Renaissance Reimagines at The Whittox Gallery in Frome. This large-scale political piece marks a departure from the artist’s usual precise, detailed style, embracing a slightly more expressive and direct approach that conveys a sense of urgency fitting to its subject: the ongoing global pandemic of violence against women.

The composition directly engages with the myth of Leda and Zeus in the form of a swan, a story that has been depicted throughout Western art history, particularly in the Renaissance. In many historical representations, the darker themes of coercion and deception inherent in the myth are often overshadowed by the seductive allure of the narrative and its provocative imagery of sensuality.

Glenn Damhus reimagines this narrative through a contemporary feminist perspective. In her version, Leda is not passive or complicit; rather, she is fully aware of the manipulation about to unfold. Her figure stands upright, screaming with arms outstretched in defiance and protection, capturing a moment of recognition and resistance.

A dragonfly appears within the scene as a symbolic counterpoint. In Japanese art, the dragonfly represents courage, strength, and victory. Here, it serves as an emblem of resilience, promoting resistance against oppression and affirming the possibility of dignity, autonomy, and freedom in the face of adversity.

Leda and the attach of the swans | 2018 | oil on wooden panel with beeswax varnish | 120 x 90cm