+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.
No Fishing Signs
2010-2011
Paint on cardboard
Each No Fishing Sign is painted on found cardboard, using discarded house paint and leftover studio materials. Many of these paintings feature text, often in black ink or white conté, that articulate a variety of prohibitions. No fishing. No hunting. No BBQ. No nicknames. No majesty. Sometimes these prohibitions are crossed out or painted over. Sometimes they are left as clear, bold statements.
These paintings can be hung individually or shingled en masse in a dense installation.
