Leonardo Drew: “Ubiquity” at Galerie Lelong & Co., Paris

For over thirty years, Leonardo Drew has captivated audiences with his contemplative abstract sculptures, which deftly navigate the tension between order and chaos. His works, monumental yet intimate, evoke the post-Minimalist tradition while alluding to North America’s industrial past. Drew’s artistic process involves transforming raw materials—such as wood, glass, plaster, and cotton—into intricate compositions that explore themes of life, decay, erosion, and regeneration. His surfaces teem with intrinsic energy, underscored by the interplay between the formal structure of the grid and the untamed forces of nature, embodying both creation and destruction.

This May, Drew returns to Galerie Lelong in Paris for his second exhibition, “Ubiquity,” where he will unveil a new site-responsive installation and a series of core works featuring glass and painted plaster. Each medium serves as a fresh canvas for Drew, offering endless possibilities for reinvention and reinterpretation. The re-purposing of materials breathes new life and meaning into his creations, a concept Drew emphasizes by saying, “The adaptability of the work is the life of the work.” His latest site-responsive explosion installation is tailored to reflect the historic 18th-century ambience of Galerie Lelong, a challenge Drew eagerly embraces to forge a dynamic relationship between sculpture and space.

Drew’s most recent solo exhibitions have taken place at prominent venues such as the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2023) and the Amon Carter Museum (2023-2024). His works have been exhibited internationally and are part of numerous esteemed public collections, including:

• Baltimore Museum of Art
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• The Museum of Modern Art, New York
• Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
• The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
• Tate, London

Born in 1961 in Tallahassee, Florida, and raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Leonardo Drew now splits his time between Brooklyn, New York, and San Antonio, Texas.