Biography
Lea (Calvani) Bodea was raised in Budd Lake, NJ. She attended college in Rochester, NY, and received a BA in English Literature with a concentration in African and Women’s Studies. After graduating, Lea spent the next 20 years in Charlottesville, VA. In 2016 she decided to move from a career in the fields of Autism, Child Development and Trauma and relocate to Baltimore, MD committing herself to making art as full time as possible.
In 2019, Lea submitted several pieces of her work into a group art show entitled, “Cathartic, Art that Heals” at Atlas Gallery in Mt. Vernon. Since moving to Baltimore, she started meeting other artists and making connections. Lea began regularly showing her work at Artdromeda in the iconic Montgomery Ward Building, and was included in a group show during Artscape that year at Hancock Solar Gallery.
Lea continued to explore acrylic paint on canvas in the linework and imagery echoing her early watercolor work into 2020. When the pandemic came, she went on an extensive exploration of more abstract representations. She moved back to her most familiar medium, watercolor paper, she learned to manipulate acrylic paint more than brushing it. She relied on the depth and emotion of the experience rather than the identifiable images that came from it, befitting the nebulous pandemic era.
2023 brought Lea to Baltimore County where she primarily experimented with collage and acrylic paint. She sees working this way as combining elements of what is real and what’s unreal, working through the awkward transition or intersection between the exterior and interior worlds. Lea had a solo art show at Full Moon Gallery, Baltimore, called INDIVIDUATION where she showed that new collection.
In 2019, Lea submitted several pieces of her work into a group art show entitled, “Cathartic, Art that Heals” at Atlas Gallery in Mt. Vernon. Since moving to Baltimore, she started meeting other artists and making connections. Lea began regularly showing her work at Artdromeda in the iconic Montgomery Ward Building, and was included in a group show during Artscape that year at Hancock Solar Gallery.
Lea continued to explore acrylic paint on canvas in the linework and imagery echoing her early watercolor work into 2020. When the pandemic came, she went on an extensive exploration of more abstract representations. She moved back to her most familiar medium, watercolor paper, she learned to manipulate acrylic paint more than brushing it. She relied on the depth and emotion of the experience rather than the identifiable images that came from it, befitting the nebulous pandemic era.
2023 brought Lea to Baltimore County where she primarily experimented with collage and acrylic paint. She sees working this way as combining elements of what is real and what’s unreal, working through the awkward transition or intersection between the exterior and interior worlds. Lea had a solo art show at Full Moon Gallery, Baltimore, called INDIVIDUATION where she showed that new collection.
In 2024, Lea began working full time as the Development and Event Manager at a school for autism and special needs. Now, 2025 promises to be a better balance of the personal, creative and professional for Lea. Her work still hangs regularly at Artdromeda Collective at Montgomery Park, the new year show opens Friday, January 10th and hangs through the end of March. Contact Lea for more information.