Courtney M. Leonard

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Courtney M. Leonard (born 1980) is a multimedia artist, filmmaker, and activist from the Shinnecock Nation in Long Island, New York. [1] Her work revolves around issues of ecology and Native identity, specifically their intersection with water, which is essential to the Shinnecock. Leonard primarily uses clay and her ceramic artwork has been inspired by the whaling coastal culture of the Shinnecock Nation. She has contributed to the Offshore Art Movement and now focuses on her work, BREACH, which is centered on environmental sustainability. [2]

Contents

In 2024 her work featured in an exhibition titled The New Transcendence at the Friedman Benda Gallery in New York (a group show curated by Glenn Adamson also featuring works by Ini Archibong, Andrea Branzi, Stephen Burks, Najla El Zein, and Samuel Ross). [3] [4] [5] [6]

Biography

Courtney Leonard was born in 1980 in Long Island, New York. She is a member of the Shinnecock Nation, an indigenous community with historical connections to water, fishing, and whaling. [7] Leonard's early life and her identity was heavily influenced by the coastal way of life of the Shinnecock community.

In 2014, Leonard began BREACH, a mixed media project that delves into the multiple definitions of the word, as well as, how it pertains to her life as a member of the Shinnecock Nation. [8] With her work, she confronts audiences with the question, "Can a culture sustain itself when it no longer has access to the environment that fashioned its culture?" [9]

Leonard currently resides in Northfield, MN.

Education

Courtney M. Leonard attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She received her associate's degree in art and museum studies in 2000. Two years later, she received her bachelor's degree from Alfred University's NY College of Ceramics. Leonard received her Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008. [10]

Artworks

Leonard has been working with clay since she was a little girl but her first experience understanding the connection between herself and working with clay was in high school. [11] From then on, she began using her artwork with ceramics to focus on the issues that the Shinnecock community faces with the ocean environment and sustainability. [12]

Artifice, BREACH: LOG 16 Courtney Leonard, Shinnecock.jpg
Artifice, BREACH: LOG 16

Artifice, 2016. Micaceous clay with glaze. This sculpture is a hollow medium sized oval that has holes perforating its entire surface. The artwork is meant to resemble man-made artificial reef structures.

BREACH #2, 2016. Glazed ceramics on Pallet. This artwork showcases various whale teeth made from clay, piled on a wooden pallet.

SEWA SIS, 2017. Mixed Media Acrylic on Canvas, 48" x 36" x 2". This painting is a portrait of a young woman of the Shinnecock nation. She is dressed in traditional Shinnecock clothes with ivory jewelry.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions [13]

  1. 2018 BREACH: LOG 2018 - “EUPHOTIC”, Tansey Contemporary, Denver, CO
  2. 2017 BREACH: LOG 2017, Santa Fe Art Institute: Water Rights Residency, Santa Fe, NM
  3. 2016 BREACH: LOG 2016, ASU Art Museum: Ceramic Research Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
  4. 2015 BREACH: LOG 2015, Stephens Art Gallery, University of the Ozarks, Santa Fe, NM
  5. 2014 BREACH: LOG 2014, MoCNA, Santa Fe, NMLEVEL/LAND, Lloyd Kiva New Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

Group exhibitions [13]

  1. 2018: Trees Also Speak, Invitational, Curator: Catherine Bernard, State University of New York (SUNY), Westbury, NYTHEY, Invitational, Curator: Roberto Lugo, The Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY Small Favors, Invitational, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA (in) Visible, Invitational, Curator: Amanda Barr, NCECA 2018 Concurrent Exhibition, Braddock Carnegie Library, PA
  2. 2017: Without A Theme, Invitational, Pequot Museum, Mashantuckett, CT People of Color People of Clay, Invitational, Curator: Leslie King Hammond, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MDWe The People: Serving Notice, Invitational, American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA
  3. 2016: Radical Seafaring, Invitational, Curator: Andrea Grover, Parish Art Museum, Southampton, NYThe Path We Share, Invitational, Curator: David Diviney, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia
  4. 2015: Art In Embassies Program: Limited Edition Prints, Invitational, IAIA & U.S. Embassies, USA/International Imago Mundi: Luciano Benetton Collection, Invitational, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy Courtney M. Leonard & Frank Buffalo Hyde, Collaborative Exhibition, Modern West Fine Art, Salt Lake City, UT RISD: Radical Investigations of Systems and (Dis)connections, Invitational, RISD Memorial Hall, Providence, RI
  5. 2014: “50 from 6”: Contemporary Ceramic Art From 6 Rocky Mountain States, Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery, Utah Toi Ngapuhi, International Invitational Exhibition, Northland College, Ngapuhi, New Zealand Changing Hands: 3, Invitational, Curator: Ellen Taubman, Dave McFadden, Museum of Arts & Design, NY, NY 50/50: Fifty Artists, Fifty Years, Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), Santa Fe, NM
  6. 2011: Counting Coup, Invitational, Curator: Ryan Rice, Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM

Collections

Permanent collections [14]

Publications [14]

Awards

Leonard has received many awards, and residencies from insitutions such as, The Andy Warhol Foundation, The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, The Rasumon Foundation, The United States Art In Embassies Program. [15] She was awarded the 2018 National Artist Fellowship from The Native Arts and Culture Foundation. [16]

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References

  1. Soulé, Barbara (January 9, 2018). "Courtney M. Leonard". Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. Yeahpau, Mandy (January 9, 2018). "Courtney M. Leonard". Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  3. "Courtney M. Leonard featured in THE NEW TRANSCENDENCE. at Friedman Benda, New York, NY". Ferrin Contemporary. December 13, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  4. Barandy, Kat (January 13, 2024). "the new transcendence: friedman benda highlights artists from andrea branzi to samuel ross". designboom | architecture & design magazine. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  5. "Friedman Benda NY considers design as motifs of The New Transcendence". www.stirpad.com. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  6. Madlener, Adrian (January 16, 2024). "Glenn Adamson and Friedman Benda examine spirituality in contemporary design". wallpaper.com. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  7. "WHO WE ARE". Shinnecock Nation. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  8. "Poetic and political | ASU News". news.asu.edu. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  9. Yeahpau, Mandy (January 9, 2018). "Courtney M. Leonard". Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  10. "Courtney M. Leonard – About the Artist". The Gallatin Galleries. September 29, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  11. American Experience | Courtney Leonard| ReelNative | Season 21 | Episode 5 | KQED. May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024 via video.kqed.org.
  12. "Courtney M. Leonard – About the Artist". The Gallatin Galleries. September 29, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Leonard Artist Resume - https://img-cache.oppcdn.com/fixed/3861/assets/FkWrqlXh7WS7I3se.pdf
  14. 1 2 Leonard Artist Resume - https://img-cache.oppcdn.com/fixed/3861/assets/FkWrqlXh7WS7I3se.pdf
  15. "Courtney M Leonard's profile | St. Olaf College". www.stolaf.edu. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  16. Yeahpau, Mandy (January 9, 2018). "Courtney M. Leonard". Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. Retrieved March 31, 2024.