Leena with her girlfriend Jane. One of her first experimental photography works.
In 2005 Leena received an offer to licence her art works to IKEA and Laura Ashley, whilst she appreciated the opportunity of having her work sold through a global brand she did not feel her work was suitable for a commercial mass market.
In 2005 she received an offer of representation from Lumas Gallery in Berlin, she flew to Berlin to meet the founders, who were wonderful, interesting, people. Whilst Lumas is an excellent gallery and working with them was an excellent opportunity at the time she felt it was not right for her work.
In 2007/2008 she received an offer from The Hilton Hotel Group in the USA to provide them with prints for their hotel rooms, she turned this down.
The commercial realities of being an artist and managing your work means artists cannot always be choosy about the galleries they work with and who they sell their work to. However it's better to hold out for the right opportunity, develop your vision and have something meaningful to say rather than compromise though sometimes such idealism can be challenging.