Thiebaud Endowed Lecture: Leonardo Drew Artist talk, Manetti Shrem Museum, Davis, CA

Leonardo Drew
Betty Jean and Wayne Thiebaud Endowed Lecture

Thursday, February 6, 2020, 4:30–6 PM,
Manetti Shrem Museum, Community Education Room

Selfie with Leonardo Drew

Leonardo Drew, who is an American sculpture, gave a lecture at 4:30 pm. February 6, 2020, in the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Museum of Art. It was open to anyone along with the Museum exhibition.

Drew poses with his early painting

I had longed to attend this event in Davis, where I live, for more than a month. Drew is one of my inspirations and I have referenced him and his work since I created my abstract sculpture form with fabric. I have been affected by his idea of artmaking and process and the way he put himself out there. It motivated me to allow myself to explore my own creativity.

Drew’s earlier drawing, before his installation work

I arrived 30 minutes early and sat in the very first row of seats to wait for the lecture. There was a smaller audience, most of them were students, or faculty, than Kaltenbach’s lecture. Introduced by Lucy Paul, of UCD art department faculty and sculptor, Drew started his talk with how he had stopped painting and drawing when he was 19 years old. He wanted to put himself in a challenging place to create art or test his potential. Most of his work has one hue and found objects. He said his art is about exploration of the world and himself. After the talk, he had many questions from students, art department faculty, and local artists including Wayne Thiebaud, and Stephen Kaltenbach. That part of the evening had the most exciting energy.

Drew mentioned his current exhibition in the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Hammer Projects. This artwork is installed on the Hammer’s lobby wall, to express an explosion of color and material that embraces entropy of an unknown planet.

Wayne Thiebaud and Drew speak about Drew’s artistic intention

 

 

Drew describes one of his works of wood

 

Drew’s installation piece