Perfect Apple Painting

While we live in a period of unprecedented wealth, poverty and hunger persist. We are increasingly aware of our environment, but we continue to damage it. Despite significant advances in our understanding of human disease, we struggle to provide person-centered care and promote health. Participation in the arts promotes the health and well-being of individuals and their communities. It is therefore essential that artists work with their communities to explore the health issues facing humanity. In 2002, Pierre Leichner left a thirty-five-year career as a university psychiatrist to study fine arts at Emily Carr University (Vancouver, BC). In so doing, he broke away from what he saw as a dehumanized healthcare system, while fulfilling a long-held dream. During his art studies, Pierre became aware of the many similarities between science and art, which share the aim of examining the foundations of human existence. He also realized that art had lost its place to science, business, and entertainment as a tool for understanding. Following the completion of his Master of Fine Arts/Sculpture at Concordia University (Montreal, QC) in 2011, he devoted himself to his life as an artist. He founded the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival in 2017, dedicated to marginalized visual and performing artists, for which he is still artistic director. He is also a member of the Connection Salon collective and sits on the board of the Community Arts Council of Vancouver. His current projects, fusing science and art, illustrate his interdisciplinary approach. His paintings on doors explore gravitational waves and black holes, while his BioArt works with earthworms denounce the harmful effects of agrochemicals on soil fertility. In cultural mediation, his ephemeral installations underline our need to reconnect with nature, while his series of hand and foot sculptures address the socio-political challenges of immigrants and refugees. As a member of the Connection Salon collective, he organizes the Art Talks in Plain English Series to democratize knowledge and bring academic fine art closer to the community.