Seeing Lea Colombo's Work in a New Light

When the opening date of artist Lea Colombo's inaugural show, "Colours of My Body," was delayed, she took to Instagram to explain: "I have been called to focus on my healing and led to this new date which is in alignment with the Spring Equinox—a symbol of new beginnings," she wrote. "I trust that there is a reason that the timing has worked this way."

The two-part exhibition, which opened on September 22 (the vernal equinox in the southern hemisphere) in both Cape Town and Los Angeles, offers viewers a mind-bendingly beautiful look into Colombo's sense of spirituality. “Through color, light, and energy, I explore a visual journey toward individuation,” she explains.

With dozens of original prints, bronze and stone sculptures, lighting, furniture, and other installations, she layers the curves of her own body with aura-like compositions and graffiti-style accents that are, as she puts it, "always centered around color, always tapping into energy fields, enabling the visualization of our connections to a higher consciousness."

Colombo is adept at playing with color and form, as seen in her fashion photography, and she applies her skills here as a means for herself—and, potentially, the viewer—to embark on a quest for enlightenment. "This exhibit invites all to be guided by color—tune into it, recognize it, see it, feel it," she says. "The space, with its energetic freshness, allows a higher frequency to be tapped into and for one's energy to be raised."

In considering her process of self-discovery while making the works for "Colours of My Body," Colombo says, "My creative mind sees colors and energies and I am able to further peel back the layers of self, trusting in the process and always being led by my intuition." In other words: "We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for."

“Colours of My Body” is now on view through October 18 at Terminal 27, Los Angeles, and through October 22 at Space by THEFOURTH, Cape Town.