Listening to Silence: How Leigh Witherell Captures the Unspoken in Her Art

‘Silence is one of the greatest arts of conversation.’ This quote by Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman Statesman, philosopher, orator, writer, and lawyer, resonates beautifully with Leigh Witherell’s artwork. A contemporary figurative artist living in Melbourne, Florida, Leigh speaks to viewers through the silent spaces in her paintings. Her artworks converse, they emote, and they convey the tone and voice of her paintings.

Witherell’s aesthetic eye captures human emotions and intimate and profound moments. Witherell evokes deep, emotional and provocative responses in the silences that leap out from her paintings. They speak of her life traumas, such as losing her daughter in 2021. Unspoken communication, silence around unspoken words and spaces, and the universality of emotions are all brought to life on her canvases.

Leigh Witherell on Capturing Silence Through Her Art

Grief and loss impact art in many ways. Leigh Witherell speaks about her suffering, loss, and trauma of losing a child through her art. She gives credit to her upbringing and family for her artistic practices. Witherell comes from a family of storytellers with stories centered around children, daily life, growing up, and other interesting anecdotes. Growing up around this ambiance taught her to listen to the silent spaces between the words. She learned how to listen to those spaces and convert them into art.

Witherell knows the boons and banes of living in a modern society where people are always contemplating their next move or what to say next. Listening to the quietness and silences, and understanding what there isn’t is a good skill. It is this that enabled Witherell to listen to the stories of families and friends and bring them to life through her compositions.

Giving life to moments that are unseen by people excites and inspires Witherell, and she tries to capture the moments and human interactions that are not obvious to family and friends and are not highlighted on social media. The lonely silence that fills many areas of her life and her grief journey is captured in her significant projects. Many of Leigh Witherell’s projects have art that speaks about silent interpersonal relationships. It focuses on her loss and makes peace with her loneliness.

Somber tones, delicate strokes, and muted tones are used by Witherell to express her melancholy and silence. Those artworks are not just about personal trauma; they also reflect her journey, personal catharsis and throw light on her solitude. The deftness with which Witherell articulates the complexities of human emotions and life, and she captures these moments and the silences between the spaces as visual narratives.

Witherell is an internationally renowned artist, and she has held exhibitions in many places and many countries. Her art is seen in many private collections around the world. She feels traveling is a good way to open our minds and have a different perspective on the globe and people. It gives new ideas on her thought processes and on what she can do. Witherell has held a solo exhibition in Madrid and completed a residency in Portugal.

Her physical and solo exhibitions, solo and in a group, have given Witherell awards and recognitions. They throw light on her as an artist. NY Weekly Magazine calls her one of the Top 20 Inspirational Women to look out for in 2025. Witherell wants her art to speak to people. She intends to speak to viewers through her artwork, and she hopes they will listen to her voice. She intends to leave her legacy through meaningful silences and quiet conversations for the viewers to interpret and comprehend.