+About the Artist
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James Leonard is a Brooklyn-based artist. His work ranges from figure drawings and handheld objects to videos, installations, and socially engaged performance pieces.
Leonard’s art often examines complex intersections: where agency butts up against impotence, where alarm gives birth to growth, and where optimism coexists with grieving. He hopes that his works can serve as a form of wayfinding, helping others find beauty and joy while navigating the challenges of our twenty-first century existence.
Exhibitions and appearances include Queens Museum, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Wasserman Projects in Detroit, the Delaware Art Museum, and MASS MoCA. His work has been supported by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, the Jersey City Parks Coalition, and the Joseph Robert Foundation. Leonard received his bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and has an MFA from the University of Michigan. He has presented as visiting artist at institutions including Cornell, Harvard, and American University.
Shirts
2012 to present
Iron-on lettering, used clothing
In this series, used garments serve as ground for vinyl, flocked, felt, sequined, and bejeweled lettering. Each text has been carefully curated, many written by the artist. Some are deep confessions, some express existential anxieties, and others celebrate sources of joy.
A few are quotations whose context and content resonated deeply. For example, “Food and Water Shortages in Our Lifetime” comes from graffiti visible for years in Manhattan’s Bowery. “His Words Were Bone Crushing” comes from Pastor Eric Brown in response to Trump’s 2017 comments on Charlottesville.
