Leslie Barlow (b. 1989) is a visual artist, educator, and cultural worker from Minneapolis, MN. Barlow believes art and art making is both healing and liberatory, through the power of representation, witnessing and storytelling. Her life-sized oil paintings are inspired by community and personal experiences, and serve as both monuments to community members and explorations into how race entangles the intimate sphere of love, family, and friendship.
Barlow is a recipient of the 2021 Jerome Hill Fellowship, 2019 McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship, the 20/20 Springboard Fellowship, and five MN State Arts Board grants between 2016 and 2023. Her work can be viewed in collections around Minnesota including at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota Historical Society, Weisman Art Museum, Minnesota Museum of American Art, and US Bank Stadium. Barlow earned her BFA in 2011 from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and her MFA in 2016 from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In addition to her studio practice, Barlow has taught at the University of Minnesota, Metro State University, and Carleton College.
Barlow also supports emerging artists at Public Functionary as Director of PF Studios, is a member of the Creatives After Curfew mural collective, and is the creator/producer of ConFluence, an arts and science fiction convention.
Barlow is represented by Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis, MN.