Artist Bio

Sara Leger is a contemporary Canadian artist based in Southern Ontario whose Bougie Punk style fuses refined technique with a defiant, unapologetic spirit. Her work is a direct challenge to the historic undervaluing of women’s creative and emotional labor, both in life and in the art world.

Leger’s process is deeply rooted in narrative. Her paintings are contained within either reclaimed 100-year-old windows from Maryvale Abbey — a former Catholic girls’ school where generations of young women were taught to be pious and proper — or within ornate, hand-sculpted Rococo like frames she reimagines in modern black and gilded finishes. The Abbey frames reframe historical restriction into unapologetic presence, while the Rococo structures represent the truth that our darkest, most complicated parts often create the most striking beauty.

Formally trained in Illustration at Sheridan College, Leger also founded and operated a highly successful women’s strength training facility before returning to her art full-time. This background informs her work’s central themes of strength, resilience, and taking up space.

An accomplished curator and arts advocate, Leger has exhibited in group shows at Cline House alongside Pierre Giroux and Laura Stevens, and curated and exhibited in Gardeners of the Galaxy with Jason DeGraff, Jessica Sarrazin, and Eliska Smiley. Her work is represented in the United States by Xanadu Gallery Studios. Leger has illustrated multiple books, including a cover, for award-winning author Melissa Yee, and is the recipient of an Artist of the Year award.

Working from her Cherry Bomb Studio in Lancaster, Ontario, Leger's paintings are held in private collections internationally and across North America, with works placed in homes from New York and Seattle to Scottsdale and Los Angeles, as well as in major Canadian cities including Toronto and Montreal.