As we learn to speak, words naturally get tied to generic pictures. If I say the word “forest”, your brain produces a generic image of a forest.

When I moved to Costa Rica in 1998, my stock of images was entirely based off twenty-five years of living in France. They did not fit my new environment. It was the moment I started to look instead of just seeing; vegetation could have a life on its own, palm trees could grow out of their pots, the rain could soack you in a matter of minutes, a packed bus could smell good! It opened my eyes to things I took for granted: everyday social interactions, routines, urban environments, behaviours.

It’s when what you see collides with the generic picture you have that it grabs your attention and provokes a feeling. You take a picture of a sunset because it is more beautiful than the generic image you have of a sunset.

Daily life moves me and sparks the urge to capture moments of the ordinary. I find beauty in a building under construction, people caught in traffic, workers going about their day. I feel a deep tenderness for what human beings do and create, particularly in the simplest things.

My work seeks to capture the quiet joy I find in observing the life around me.

It was in 2020, during the first French lockdown, that Leti Stagno decided to commit full time to painting. 

In 2023, she exhibited for the first time at the 30th Édition of the Salon des Arts in the city of Chambourcy, France. 

During this event, she was approached by the Association des Peintres de Chatou, with whom she took part in a group exhibition in July of the same year. 

After moving to Costa Rica, in March 2025, she participated in the Art Fest Curridabat, Aleste, organized by the Galeria Matiz.