Leslie Laskey: S.E.N.T. by Bruno David Gallery

L ES L I E L A SK E Y S.E.N.T. (Security Envelopes Now Tempered)

bruno david gallery

LESLIE LASKEY

S.E.N.T. (Security Envelopes Now Tampered) September 9 - October 15, 2011 Bruno David Gallery 3721 Washington Boulevard Saint Louis, 63108 Missouri, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Director: Bruno L. David This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. Editor: Bruno L. David Catalog Designer: Yoko Kiyoi and Kara Gordon Design Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Bruno David Gallery and Leslie Laskey Cover image: K. W. Blue Heaven, 2011 (detail) Mixed media on paper 15-1/2 x 17 inches.

CONTENTS

S.E.N.T. by Megan Vallowe LESLIE LASKEY by Jim Harris AFTERWORD by Bruno L. David CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY

S.E.N.T. (Security Envelopes Now Tampered) by Megan Vallowe 2

Even as one of the longest, successful working artists in the St. Louis area, Leslie Laskey continually creates work that is innovative and engaging, as demonstrated in his new series, S.E.N.T. (Security Envelopes Now Tampered). While most artists strive to excel in just one area, Laskey does so in numerous ones. Throughout his career, Laskey has worked in a wide range of mediums including painting, photography, sculpture and woodcarvings. The key to his success resides in the artist’s desire to work with what lies in front of him. Laskey draws inspiration from his life as well as numerous objects, people, and places. From an old hinge to security envelopes, anything can inspire or become a work of art. It is because of this ability to look at anything and everything as a possible art form that gives Laskey both his longevity and his significance. Taking an everyday object, Laskey uses envelopes to play with our world’s visual history. The pieces of S.E.N.T. are more than simple collages. While creating them, Laskey drew inspiration not just from the envelope itself but also from items such as art history, landscapes, stage sets and architecture. He allows the collages to become environments of their own, letting the envelopes determine the scale and architecture of the piece. Laskey lets one element of an envelope generate his direction, using it as a reference for where the work will end up. By the end of each piece, Laskey has created a work of art that succeeds in changing its viewer. After seeing these collages, the audience will never look at their mail the same way again. The works that make up S.E.N.T. challenge the viewer to question their previously held ideas about the objects they throw away on a daily basis. Laskey opens the observer’s eyes to a range of materials, objects and discoveries. This new series brings to light the different patterns used for the insides of envelopes that, with Laskey’s artistic vision, morph into fascinating and energetic pieces. Infinitely varied, the S.E.N.T. series becomes an exposition of the colors, shapes, and patterns of envelopes. Whether Laskey is referencing a specific object or idea in a piece or not he utilizes every aspect of the envelope. In pieces that are clear references, such as to styles of painting, Laskey uses different patterns and geometric forms to draw in the viewer. The audience is able to recognize the true artistic beauty in the work without even realizing the medium of the piece. At other times, Laskey uses specific aspects of the envelopes not just its patterns, such as the flaps and window boxes, to create depth and movement. By using these techniques, Laskey is able to engulf the viewer. While each separate piece of S.E.N.T. can stand on its own, seeing the collages all together becomes a truly transformative experience.

Megan Vallowe is a writer who lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri. This essay is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.

LESLIE LASKEY by Jim Harris

Laskey always seems to find something around him that triggers a new body of work. Sometimes it is an object which provides a form or shape. Most recently a salvaged hinge, complete with rusted nails, generated a gallery full of drawings and paintings. Sometimes it is a method of assembly like the balance of various boards propped against one another and the wall which created a series of sculptures and related drawings and prints. Sometimes it is a new material such as the automobile touch-up paint with which he drew over glassy magazine advertisements to create a set of glistening, jewel-like drawings. The collages of S.E.N.T. utilize the inside of security envelopes that the rest of us routinely pitch. Once this source ignited Laskey’s creativity, his years of experience entered into the play. Line, shape, construction, scale, and an art history of sources inform his experimentation with new discoveries, surprise, and wizardry. Laskey reshapes his world….and ours.

Jim Harris, Associate Professor Emeritus, Washington University School of Architecture, is a former student, a former colleague, and a current student of Leslie Laskey. This essay is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.

AFTERWORD by Bruno L. David

I am pleased to exhibit a new series of works by Leslie laskey at the Bruno David Gallery. Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding. Leslie Laskey’s remarkable and compelling works makes him one the most impressive artist of the gallery. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Jim Harris and Megan Vallowe for their thoughtful essays. I am deeply grateful to Yoko Kiyoi, who lent much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue. The Bruno David Gallery opens its sixth season with an exhibition of new work by Leslie Laskey called S.E.N.T. Security Envelopes Now Tampered. Even as one of the longest, most successful working artists in the St. Louis area, Laskey continually creates work that is new and engaging. The key to Laskey’s ever-changing medium resides in the artist’s desire to work with what lies in front of him. Laskey draws inspiration from numerous objects, people, places, and his life. It is because of this ability to look at anything and everything as a possible art form that gives Laskey both his longevity and his significance. After seeing these collages, the viewer will never look at their mail in the same way again. The works that make up S.E.N.T. challenge the viewer to question their previously held ideas about the objects they throw away on a daily basis. Laskey opens the audience’s eyes to a range of materials, objects and discoveries. Composed of security envelopes, this new series brings to light the different patterns used for the insides of envelopes that, with Laskey’s artistic vision, morph into fascinating and energetic pieces. Infinitely varied, the S.E.N.T. series becomes an exposition of the colors, shapes, and patterns of envelopes. Laskey’s previous work covers a wide range of mediums, including painting, photography, sculpture and woodcuts. In honor of his multi faceted career and impact on the art world, Steinberg Hall Gallery at Washington University in St. Louis is presenting a retrospective of Laskey’s work called re:VIEWS that will coincide with the exhibition at Bruno David Gallery. re:VIEWS: Leslie Laskey curated by Frank Schwaiger includes work from the 1950s to the present, covering many different mediums as well as work previously shown and works never shown before. Leslie Laskey is Professor Emeritus of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. He studied at the Institute of Design in Chicago (now the Illinois Institute of Technology) with founder and American Bauhaus pioneer Lászlò Moholy-Nagy and Indiana University. He currently divides his time between St. Louis and Manistee, Michigan.

CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION

K.W. After, 2011 8

A Mystery X Play, 2011 9

Untitled 94, 2011 10

K.W. Laced, 2011 11

Untitled 95, 2011 12

Untitled 96, 2011 13

Untitled 12, 2011 14

Untitled 97, 2011 15

Untitled 10, 2011 16

Untitled 98, 2011 17

Untitled 99, 2011 18

K.W. Blue Heaven, 2011 19

Untitled 100, 2011 20

Untitled 101, 2011 21

Madame Bovary, 2011 22

VIII Comedy del Arte, 2011 23

II Desire Under the Elms, 2011 24

Untitled 102, 2011 25

Untitled 103, 2011 26

I Mikado, 2011 27

Bway Window NW, 2011 28

Untitled 105, 2011 29

Untitled 106, 2011 30

K.W. Shuttered, 2011 31

Untitled 107, 2011 32

Untitled 108, 2011 33

K.W. Untitled, 2011 34

Untitled, 2011 35

Untitled 109, 2011 36

Ann Krone, 2011 37

Untitled 13, 2011 38

Untitled 24, 2011 39

The Blue Willow Adventure, 2011 40

Untitled 31, 2011 41

Janet Kennedy, 2011 42

Samari 53, 2011 43

K.W. Magic, 2011 44

IV MacBeth, 2011 45

VIIII, 2011 46

Untitled 93, 2011 47

Untitled 92, 2011 48

Untitled 56, 2011 49

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 50

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 51

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 52

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 53

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 54

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 55

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 56

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 57

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 58

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 59

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 60

LESLIE LASKEY: S.E.N.T. at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 61

LESLIE LASKEY American, b. 1921 Lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri and Manistee, Michigan

EDUCATION Institute of Design (Illinois Institute of Technology), Chicago, IL

ONE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2001 1999 1995

Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: S.E.N.T., September-October, St. Louis, MO Bruno David Gallery, Portrait: Artist and Friends, November, St. Louis, MO Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Tango, September-October, St. Louis, MO Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Work, March-April, St. Louis, MO New Space Gallery, Leslie Laskey and Frank Schwaiger, May, St. Louis, MO Bruno David Gallery (New Media Room), Archeologie, July-August, St. Louis, MO Sheldon Art Galleries, Ars Botanica: Works by Leslie Laskey, September 29, 2006 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; January 27, 2007, St. Louis, MO Ellen Curlee Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Lilium, September-October, 2006 Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Realms, May 5-27, St. Louis, MO Gallery of Contemporary Art, Journeys, Territories, Adventures, (St. Louis Community College-Forest Park), February 7-25, St. Louis, MO Columbia Foundation, MMIII (with Frank Schwaiger), St. Louis, MO Cherokee Gallery, Doll (Portraits), St. Louis, MO Columbia Foundation, Redux: Work on Paper (Amaryllis Suite), St. Louis, MO Columbia Foundation, Duet (with Frank Schwaiger), St. Louis, MO Columbia Foundation, New Works (with Frank Schwaiger), St. Louis, MO Gallery of Contemporary Art, Opus 1995 Variations, (St. Louis Community College-Forest Park), September, St. Louis, MO

1989 1987 1987 1985 1984 1980 1979 1978

Elliot Smith Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Encounters: Prints, Drawings, Paintings, Sculpture, September-October, St. Louis, MO Bixby Gallery, Leslie Laskey Retrospective, St. Louis, MO Elliot Smith Gallery, Sticks, St. Louis, MO North Carolina State Museum, Leslie Laskey, Raleigh, NC Elliot Smith Gallery, On Paper: Leslie Laskey Suite of New Drawings, St. Louis, MO Martin Schweig Gallery, Leslie Laskey, St. Louis, MO Talisman Gallery, Leslie Laskey, St. Louis, MO St. George’s Gallery, Leslie Laskey, London, England

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2002 1988 1987 1986 1983

OVERVIEW_10, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO OVERVIEW_09, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO OVERVIEW_08, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO ArtsDesire, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. OVERVIEW_07, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO OVERVIEW, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO Inaugural Exhibition, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO RITUAL, Zeitgeist Gallery, October-November, Nashville, TN Mentors: Inspiration, Influence, Expertise, St. Louis Artists’ Guild Gallery, St. Louis, MO The Bauhaus Legacy in St. Louis: Woodcuts by Werner Drewes, Leslie Laskey, and Jim Harris, Curated by Olivia Lahs-Gonzales, Sheldon Art Galleries, St. Louis, MO Directions ‘88, Elliot Smith Gallery St. Louis, MO House, Garden: A Sense of Place, Elliot Smith Gallery St. Louis, MO Directions ‘87, Elliot Smith Gallery St. Louis, MO Directions ‘86, Elliot Smith Gallery St. Louis, MO Group Exhibition, Print Club Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

BIBLIOGRAPHY Fowler, Nancy Harris, Jim

“Leslie Laskey: The Art of Life, A Life in Art.” St. Louis Beacon, September 7, 2011 “Leslie Laskey.” Bruno David Gallery Publications (catalogue) September 2011

Vallowe, Megan Harris, Jim Bonetti, David. Gay, Malcolm Duffy, Robert ____________. Gay, Malcolm Friswold, Paul . Duffy, Robert Drury Dubinsky, Yvette. Miller, Rob. ____________. Murphy, Ann ____________. Crone, Tomas. Beall, Hugh. Miller, Rob. Cooper, Ivy. Bonetti, David. Crone, Tomas. Miller, Rob. Bonetti, David. Sieloff, Alison. Bonetti, David. Murphy, Anne. Miller, Rob.

“S.E.N.T. Security Envelopes Now Tampered.” Bruno David Gallery Publications (catalogue) September 2011 “Leslie Laskey: Tango.” Bruno David Gallery Publications (catalogue) September 2009 “Leslie Laskey: Shows Illustrate Art-design Connection.”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, March 30, 2008 “Art Capsules: Leslie Laskey.” Riverfront Times, March 12, 2008 “A Testament of Blossoms and Bones.” Bruno David Gallery Publications (catalogue) March 2008 “Leslie Laskey.” Art-Patrol, March 19, 2008 “Everything’s Coming Up Laskey.” Riverfront Times, September 28, 2006 “Coin of the Realms.” Riverfront Times. p. 25, May 4, 2006 “Ars Botanica: Works by Leslie J. Laskey.” Riverfront Times, November 2006 “Leslie Laskey: Realms.” Bruno David Gallery Publication, May 5, 2006 “’Leslie Laskey: Realms” Saintlouisart, May 24, 2006. http://saintlouisart.blogspot.com/ “Doll face”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, April 21, 2005 “ARTful Living,” The Healthy Planet, February 2005 “Leslie Laskey”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, September 27, 2005 “Bruno David to Open on Friday”, 52nd City, October 2005 “The Bruno buzz”, West End Word, October 26, 2005 “’Over hung’ show or ‘Hung over’ critic?” Saintlouisart, November 17, 2005 “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Riverfront Times, November 9, 2005 “Bruno David Gallery”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, November 9, 2005 “Bruno David Gallery”, 52nd City, October 2005, http://blog.52ndcity.com/archives “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Saintlouisart, October 25, 2005. http://saintlouisart.blogspot.com/ “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 20, 2005 “Grand Grand Center”, Riverfront Times, October 19, 2005 “Gallery musical chairs”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 1, 2005 “Art News”, The Healthy Planet, September 2005, http://www.thehealthyplanet.com/sept05_artfulliving.htm “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Saintlouisart, October 25, 2005. http://saintlouisart.blogspot.com/

Beall, Hugh. Griffin, William Bonetti, David. Sieloff, Alison. Bonetti, David. Murphy, Anne. ____________. Otten, Liam. Church, Amanda

“Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Illusion Junkie, October 25, 2005. Web Video. http://illusionjunkie.blogspot.com/2005/10/bruno-david-inaugural-exhibition.html “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 20, 2005 “Grand Grand Center”, Riverfront Times, October 19, 2005 “Gallery musical chairs”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 1, 2005 “Art News”, The Healthy Planet, September 2005, http://www.thehealthyplanet.com/sept05_artfulliving.htm “Leslie Laskey.” Riverfront Times, September 25, 2002 “Three degrees of Bauhaus”, Record, February 15, 2002 “Beautiful You.” Artnet Magazine, October 24, 2001

PUBLICATIONS - FILM “Forty-seven Views of Leslie Laskey” directed and produced by Lulu Gargiulo and David Wild.

GRANTS & AWARDS 1982 1986 1987

Rockefeller Foundation Grant (Print Making and Graphic Arts) Washington University Distinguished Faculty Award Distinguished Professor Award (Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture) Washington University Professor Emeritus

ARTISTS Margaret Adams Dickson Beall Laura Beard Elaine Blatt Martin Brief Lisa K. Blatt Shawn Burkard Bunny Burson Carmon Colangelo Alex Couwenberg

Damon Freed William Griffin Joan Hall Takashi Horisaki Kim Humphries Kelley Johnson Howard Jones (Estate) Chris Kahler Bill Kohn (Estate) Leslie Laskey

Patricia Olynyk Robert Pettus Gary Passanise Daniel Raedeke Chris Rubin de la Borbolla Frank Schwaiger Charles Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Buzz Spector

Jill Downen Yvette Drury Dubinsky Corey Escoto Beverly Fishman

Sandra Marchewa Peter Marcus Genell Miller

Lindsey Stouffer Cindy Tower Mario Trejo Ken Worley

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