Leslie Fry

The female or hermaphrodite body plays a central role in my art. I revise representations of women that have been controlled throughout history with visions of strength. In my sculptures and drawings, I start with basic human needs such as food, shelter, clothing, and touch. Over the course of a 46-year career, my art has ranged from intimate drawings to public sculptures to street performances.

My sculptures respond to architecture, history and the figure. The figures are mostly of imaginary descent, often melded with architectural forms to portray structure and shelter. My aim is to create tactile visions of transformation from our collective unconscious into public spaces. Though I work with many materials, I favor traditional clay modeling and bronze casting for outdoor sculpture.

For over 30 years my ongoing project is a semi-public sculpture garden next to my studio in Winooski, Vermont. A full sensory experience with sculpture is optimal outdoors or in architecture – rather than inside a museum or gallery.

I often work between sculpture, photography and collage. I place cut-out paper images in different environments, and then photograph these theatrical interventions. The process is performative and ephemeral. These phot...

Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, Bard College, Annandale, NY. M.F.A. 1993
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT. B.A. 1975
Central School of Art and Design, London, U.K. 1973-74

List of exhibitions may be viewed at: https://www.lesliefry.com/resume-work/

Leslie Fry's sculptures, drawings, and prints have been exhibited internationally in museums and galleries such as Kunsthaus in Hamburg, Zwitscher Machine Gallery in Berlin, Hangaram Art Museum in Seoul, Windspiel Galerie in Vienna, Couvent des Cordeliers in Paris, deCordova Sculpture Park near Boston, Centre des Arts Visuels in Montreal, and Artists Space, Garvey|Simon, and Wave Hill in New York.

Public sculptures have been commissioned in New York, South Korea, Montreal, Florida, Wisconsin, and Vermont. Public collections include Tufts University, Songchu International Sculpture Park, Freehand New York, Kohler Arts Center, Tampa Museum of Art, Fleming Museum of Art, Musée d’art de Joliette, and St. Petersburg, Florida’s Museum of Fine Arts.