Leslie Hewitt

Thursday, November 9, 2017

6:30 pm

Institute of Contemporary Art

118 S 36th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104

About

Leslie Hewitt’s photographs rest in sturdy wooden frames that lean

against the wall and invite viewers to experience a unique space

between photography and sculpture. Her work combines still life

compositions comprised of political, social, and personal materials,

which result in multiple histories seen embedded in sculptural,

architectural, and abstract forms. Mundane objects and structures open

into complex systems of knowledge. This perceptual slippage is what

attracts Hewitt to both the illusions of film (still and moving

photography) and the undeniable presence of physical objects

(sculpture). Exploring this as an artist and not as a historiographer,

Hewitt draws parallels between the formal appearance of things and

their significance to collective history and political consciousness

in contemporary art. In her lecture, Hewitt will discuss the

development of her practice and recent collaborations.

Biography:

Hewitt studied at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and

Art, the Yale University School of Art, and at New York University,

where she was a Clark Fellow in the Africana and Visual Culture

Studies programs. She was included in the 2008 Whitney Biennial and

the recipient of the 2008 Art Matters research grant to the

Netherlands. A selection of recent and forthcoming exhibitions include

the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Studio Museum in Harlem;

Artists Space in New York; Project Row Houses in Houston; and LA><ART

in Los Angeles. Hewitt has held residencies at the Studio Museum in

Harlem, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Radcliffe Institute for

Advanced Study at Harvard University and the American Academy in

Berlin, Germany amongst others.