Philadelphia’s Drew Leshko has been lauded for his miniatures depicting urban storefronts and objects, crafted in paper and wood. In the sculptor’s “Signs” series, in particular, we find the architecture of signage given an accurate and intimate portrayal. The artist recently shared some of those recent markers in a show with at Paradigm Gallery + Studio. (In 2016, we visited the artist’s studio, and you can find that story here.)
Amsterdam’s Andenken Gallery premieres two tandem exhibits on Oct. 28: Evan Hecox’s “Northern” and Drew Leshko’s “Heaven is Whenever.” Hecox, an artist based in Denver, Colorado, uses his cinematic style to depict urban environments and scenes; Philadelphia’s Drew Leshko crafts paper-based sculpture that extracts objects, structures, and vehicles from similar backdrops. While this is Hecox’s fourth show in the Netherlands, Leshko shows in Amsterdam for the first time with his exhibition.
Philadelphia based artist Drew Leshko (featured here on our blog) creates multi-layered paper and wood sculptures that beckon viewers to connect with a bit of nostalgia, while keeping one foot planted in the now. Leshko got his start as a studio assistant and fabricator for another sculptor just after finishing his schooling at West Chester University in his native Pennsylvania. Being strongly influenced by documentary photographers such as Walker Evans and Hilla Becher, Leshko creates sculptural commentaries that echo those filmmakers’ abilities to capture moments in time.
We live in a society that is constantly upgrading and disposing of the past, something Philadelphia based artist Drew Leshko aims to preserve. With a skilled attention to detail, Leshko miniaturizes the places, vehicles, and machines he encounters into paper sculptures. Recent subjects have included a local strip bar, his grandfather’s 80s camper, iceboxes, and even dumpsters, all replicated to 1:12 standard dollhouse scale with accuracy in cut archival paper and wood. He highlights these symbols of urban life in hopes others can begin to appreciate their every day surroundings.
For years, Thinkspace Gallery based in Los Angeles has been exporting its massive roster to cities all over the world with their “LAX” exhibition series. Named for their collaborative gallery’s local airport, respectively, the group show travels to Detroit tomorrow in cooperation with Inner State Gallery. “LAX/DTW” is one of the series’ largest installments to date, boasting over 80 international artists, including two showcases by artists Stephanie Buer and Liz Brizzi. Every artist has contributed a 16×20″ piece making a consistent, but stylistically eclectic collection that includes Adam Caldwell, Brian Mashburn, Chiew Yoshii, Curiot, Drew Leshko, Eine, James Bullough, Kevin Peterson, Kojiro Takakuwa, Matthew Grabelsky, Sean Mahan, to name a few.
Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco is currently showing a wide variety of new works from international artists with their “Summer Group Show”. As with FWMOA’s “Invisible College” exhibition, previewed earlier, the show packs in countless styles and mediums from familiar rising stars in New Contemporary. This includes artists appearing in our current issue like Erin M. Riley, Erik Jones (HF Vol. 27 cover artist), Brett Amory (HF Vol. 20), Jessica Hess (HF Vol. 21), Nychos (HF Vol. 28), Shawn Huckins (HF Vol. 32), Tracey Snelling (HF Vol. 35), and more.