Leonardo Drew creates abstract assemblages, transforming raw materials, including wood, scrap metal, and cotton, into installations and sculptural wall reliefs. His investigation of materiality and process explores cultural and historical memory as well as contemporary issues including excessive consumption, degradation of natural resources, and social disparities. Through their abstract forms, Drew’s works invite universal readings related to the passage of time and the cyclical nature of life. 

The sculptural relief Number 187T forms a box-like structure made of two parts. In the top half Drew has assembled assorted wood elements, ranging from utilitarian, rectilinear scraps with embedded nails to pieces of driftwood in various conditions—chopped, ground, burnt, and painted. From the upper-left corner, a partial branch protrudes, sprouting into space and recalling processes of regeneration. The lower half of the composition features multicolored chips of layered, painted plaster, creating an uneven surface animated by protrusions, recessions, and elements of color. The tension between order and chaos reflects Drew’s laborious, methodical process, while referencing the transience of existence. The artist has stated that his work is meant to be a reflective surface for the viewer, that is “about how you see yourself in the moment.”

About the artist: Leonard Drew (b. Tallahassee, FL, 1961) attended the Parsons School of Design (1981–1982) and received his BFA from Cooper Union (1985). His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at prominent institutions including the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco; and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC. A mid-career survey was organized by the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston in 2009. Drew’s work is represented in numerous public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; and Tate, London, UK. In 2022, Drew was recognized as a National Academician by the National Academy of Design. Drew lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.