LE S LI E L ASK E Y La Leçon d’Anatomie
bruno david gallery
LESLIE LASKEY La Leçon d’Anatomie
March 7 - April 6, 2019 Bruno David Gallery 7513 Forsyth Boulevard Saint Louis, Missouri 63105, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Owner/Director: Bruno L. David This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition “Leslie Laskey: La Leçon d’Anatomie” at Bruno David Gallery Editor: Bruno L. David Catalogue Designer: Lauren R. Mann Designer Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Leslie Laskey and Bruno David Gallery Photographs by Bruno David Gallery Cover image: Dissection, 2018 Oil on board 26.5 x 33.25 inches (67.3 x 84.5 cm.) First Edition Copyright © 2019 Bruno David Gallery All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery
CONTENTS
THE MAKING OF PICTURES BY DR. FRANK H. NETTER FINDING THE PLACE BY LESLIE LASKEY DISCOVERING BY LESLIE LASKEY WALKING A DOG BY LESLIE LASKEY AFTERWORD BY BRUNO L. DAVID CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY
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THE MAKING OF PICTURES BY DR. FRANK H. NETTER (Text from Atlas of Human Anatomy, Elsevier; 7 edition)
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THE MAKING OF PICTURES IS A STERN DISCIPLINE. ONE WAY “WRITE AROUND” A SUBJECT WHERE ONE IS NOT QUITE SURE OF THE DETAILS, BUT, WITH A BRUSH IN HAND BEFORE THE DRAWING BOARD, ONE MUST BE PRECISE AND REALISTIC, THE WHITE PAPER BEFORE THE ARTIST DEMAND THE TRUTH.
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FINDING THE PLACE BY LESLIE LASKEY
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FINDING THE PLACE
SEEING NOT SAYING
THE IDEA AND THE
SEEING
MOMENT
RECORDING
FOR THIS NEW ADVENTURE
VIEWING THINKING REMEMBERING
IS CRITICAL
OPEN THE EYES.
THE ARENA, SURELY
DESIRE CONCEIVE AND CREATE
MUST BE IN THE HISTORY, AWAITING DISCOVERY.
LESSONS IN SEEING
WHAT TRIGGERS THE SEARCH
SEEING BETTER INVOLVE
MEMORY, VISUAL, OR VERBAL
ALL THE INSTRUMENTS,
SO IT BEGINS.
EYE, HAND, AND MEMORY. TO BEGIN, FIND AN ARENA
THE DOOR IS OPEN.
THAT POSES GREAT QUESTIONS
THE SEARCH BEGINS
FINDING IT CURIOUS
COLOUR SHAPE, AND SQUARE
THAT HOW INTERWOVEN
MARK THE PATH
THE SEARCHES IN
SOON YOU ARE
ANATOMY, AND THE ARTS
FINDING A LOT MORE COLOURS AND FLAVORS
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DISCOVERING BY LESLIE LASKEY 4
DISCOVERING A SEARCH
A TASK FORMED BY IMAGE WORDS QUESTIONS ACCIDENT NOT PREDICTABLE SOLUTIONS.
“SEE BEFORE YOU SAY”
RECORD BEFORE YOU FORGET
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WALKING A DOG BY LESLIE LASKEY
WALKING A DOG
LETTING THE DOG WALK YOU
NOT UNLIKE MAKING THE NEW PROBLEM
LETTING IT LEAD YOU
TOWARD THE ARENA
AFTERWORD BY BRUNO L. DAVID
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I am pleased to present La Leçon d’Anatomie, Leslie Laskey’s twelfth solo exhibition with the gallery. In the New Media Room, the gallery presents a documentary by West-Coast-based filmmakers, David Wild and Lulu Gargiulo, on the life and work of Leslie Laskey, “Forty-Seven Views of Leslie Laskey”. Shot over an eleven-year period, “Forty-Seven Views of Leslie Laskey” is a chronicle of the artist, poet and legendary teacher. Born in Michigan in 1921, Laskey served in a combat unit in Europe and was among the troops that landed on Omaha Beach, early on D-Day, 1944. He studied at Indiana University and at the Institute of Design in Chicago (now the Illinois Institute of Technology) with founder and American Bauhaus pioneer Lászlò Moholy-Nagy. Currently, he divides his time between St. Louis and Manistee, Michigan and is a Professor Emeritus of Architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. 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 in 2005. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Frank Netter and Leslie laskey for their thoughtful texts. I am deeply grateful to Lauren R. Mann, who gave much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue. Invaluable gallery staff support for the exhibition was provided by Cleo Azariadis, Katie Engelmeyer, Lauren Mann, Taylor Fulton, Peter Finley, Jin Xia and Matthew McLoughlin.
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CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION
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Maturation 2018 oil on board 17 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches (45.1 x 40 cm)
Os 2018 oil on board 23 3/4 x 17 3/4 inches (60.3 x 45.1 cm)
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Organ II 2018 oil on paper 27 1/4 x 21 inches (69.2 x 53.3 cm)
Insignia 2018 oil on board 30 1/4 x 14 1/4 inches (76.8 x 36.2 cm)
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Tribe 2019 oil on paper 19 x 22 inches (48.3 x 55.9 cm)
Cellular, 2018 2018 oil on paper 21 1/4 x 27 1/4 inches (54 x 69.2 cm)
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Prima 2018 oil on paper 17 x 24 1/4 inches (43.2 x 61.6 cm)
Zones II 2018 oil on panel 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches (40 x 40 cm)
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Transplant II 2018 oil on board 26 x 20 1/4 inches (66 x 51.4 cm)
Untitled 2018 acyrlic on board 19 x 14 3/4 inches (48.3 x 37.5 cm)
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Tissue 2018 oil on board 11 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches (29.8 x 37.5 cm)
Transplant I 2018 oil on board 14 1/2 x 30 1/2 inches (36.8 x 77.5 cm)
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Smear 2018 oil on board 20 3/4 x 31 3/4 inches (52.7 x 80.6 cm)
Skin 2018 oil on paper 11 3/4 x 20 inches (29.8 x 50.8 cm)
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Derma I 2018 oil on panel 13 x 15 inches (33 x 38.1 cm)
Derma II 2018 oil on paper 16 x 20 3/4 inches (40.6 x 52.7 cm)
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Dissection 2018 oil on board 26 1/2 x 33 1/4 inches (67.3 x 84.5 cm)
Zones I 2018 oil on board 17 x 17 1/4 inches (43.2 x 43.8 cm)
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Organ I 2018 oil on paper 20 x 25 1/4 inches (50.8 x 64.1 cm)
Record 2018 acrylic on canvas 43 x 50 inches (109.2 x 127 cm)
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Explorer 2018 acrylic on canvas 43 x 50 inches (109.2 x 127 cm)
Wrap 2018 acrylic on canvas 43 x 50 inches (109.2 x 127 cm)
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Leslie Laskey: La Lecon d’Anatomie (installation view)
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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 2019 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2011
2010 2009 2008 2007
Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Clouds and Eclipse, May, St. Louis, MO Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: La Leçon d’Anatomie, March, St. Louis, MO (Catalogue) Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Cloud Images - Eclipse, November, St. Louis, MO (Catalogue) Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: DUETS, December 2016-January 2017, St. Louis, MO (Catalogue) Columbia Foundation Gallery, Leslie Laskey: DROP-OUTS, St. Louis, MO (Catalogue) Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: A Gathering: Muses-Fates-Furies, St. Louis, MO (Catalogue) Bullivant Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Floral+, St. Louis, MO Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Embrology, October, St. Louis, MO (Catalogue) Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Windows, September, St. Louis, MO (Catalogue) Manierre Dawson Gallery, Leslie Laskey, Community College, Scottville, MI Bruno David Gallery, Leslie Laskey: S.E.N.T., September-October, St. Louis, MO Steinberg Hall Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Retrospective, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, September 9-October 1, 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
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2006 Sheldon Art Galleries, Ars Botanica: Works by Leslie Laskey, September 29, 2006 – 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 2005 Gallery of Contemporary Art, Journeys, Territories, Adventures, (St. Louis Community College-Forest Park), February 7-25, St. Louis, MO 2004 Columbia Foundation, MMIII (with Frank Schwaiger), St. Louis, MO 2004 Cherokee Gallery, Doll (Portraits), St. Louis, MO 2003 Columbia Foundation, Redux: Work on Paper (Amaryllis Suite), St. Louis, MO 2001 Columbia Foundation, Duet (with Frank Schwaiger), St. Louis, MO 1999 Columbia Foundation, New Works (with Frank Schwaiger), St. Louis, MO 1995 Gallery of Contemporary Art, Opus 1995 Variations, (St. Louis Community College-Forest Park), September, St. Louis, MO 1989 Elliot Smith Gallery, Leslie Laskey: Encounters: Prints, Drawings, Paintings, Sculpture, September-October, St. Louis, MO 1987 Bixby Gallery, Leslie Laskey Retrospective, St. Louis, MO 1987 Elliot Smith Gallery, Sticks, St. Louis, MO 1985 North Carolina State Museum, Leslie Laskey, Raleigh, NC 1984 Elliot Smith Gallery, On Paper: Leslie Laskey Suite of New Drawings, St. Louis, MO 1980 Martin Schweig Gallery, Leslie Laskey, St. Louis, MO 1979 Talisman Gallery, Leslie Laskey, St. Louis, MO 1978 St. George’s Gallery, Leslie Laskey, London, England
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SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2019 2018 2017 2015 2014 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2002 1988 1987 1986 1983
OVERVIEW_2019, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO SMALL WORLDS, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO (catalog) OVERVIEW_2017, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO (catalog) AND / OR, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO (catalog) Halftone, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO OVERVIEW_2014, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO BLUE-WHITE-RED, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO W.O.P. I, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO 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
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Langdon, Paul Hollerbach, Bryan Meersohn, Rayan Elena Vergara Marks, Kerry Hollerbach, Bryan Marks, Kerry Lowenstein, Michael Fowler, Nancy & Arnold, Willis Griesbach, Hermes Sarah Gay, Malcolm
“Leslie Laskey” TV interview for HEC-TV, March 12, 2019 “Omega and Alpha”, LADUE NEWS, March 7, 2019 “Leslie Laskey”, Wall Street International Magazine, March 2019 “Leslie Laskey” TV interview for HEC-TV, October 17, 2017 “At 96, Leslie Laskey Continues to Create and Conceive with Art”, LADUE NEWS, March 9, 2017 “Leslie Laskey” TV interview for HEC-TV, January 16, 2017 “The Art of the Process.” Bruno David Gallery Publications (catalogue) November 2014 “Leslie Laskey and Frank Schwaiger.” Radio interview, NPR/KWMU, October 23, 2014
Fowler, Nancy Harris, Jim 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.
“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 “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
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“Artists plumb their unconscious for Bruno David.” St. Louis Beacon, September 23, 2013 “And suddenly, there was a frame.” Bruno David Gallery Publications (catalogue) September 2013
Beall, Hugh. Miller, Rob. Cooper, Ivy. Bonetti, David. Crone, Tomas. Miller, Rob. Bonetti, David. Sieloff, Alison. Bonetti, David. Murphy, Anne. Miller, Rob. Beall, Hugh. Griffin, William Bonetti, David. Sieloff, Alison.
“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/ “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
Bonetti, David. Murphy, Anne. ____________.
“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
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PUBLICATIONS - FILM “FORTY-SEVEN VIEWS OF LESLIE LASKEY” Film documentary, cinematography by Lulu Gargiulo and Directed by David Wild, 47 minutes (VIMEO https://vimeo.com/81783642 )
GRANTS & AWARDS 1982 1986 1987
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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
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brunodavidgallery.com brunodavidprojects.com @bdavidgallery #BrunoDavidGallery #LeslieLaskey #LaLeรงondAnatomie #AnatomyLesson #FrankNetter #GoSeeArt #ArtExhibition #ArtBook #ArtCatalog instagram.com/brunodavidgallery/ facebook.com/bruno.david.gallery twitter.com/bdavidgallery goodartnews.com/
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ARTISTS Laura Beard Heather Bennett Lisa K. Blatt Ben Brough Michael Byron Bunny Burson Judy Child Carmon Colangelo Terry James Conrad Alex Couwenberg Jill Downen Yvette Drury Dubinsky Damon Freed Douglass Freed
Ellen Jantzen Michael Jantzen Kelley Johnson Howard Jones (Estate) Chris Kahler Xizi Liu Bill Kohn (Estate) Leslie Laskey Justin Henry Miller James Austin Murray Ralph Nagel Yvonne Osei Patricia Olynyk Gary Passanise
Charles P. Reay Daniel Raedeke Tom Reed Frank Schwaiger Charles Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Buzz Spector Cindy Tower Mark Travers Monika Wulfers
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