Gwyneth Leech
Gwyneth Leech
New York City, NY
About Gwyneth Leech
New York City artist Gwyneth Leech began drawing on her empty paper coffee cups during meetings in 2009. One thing led to another and the practice came to absorb her completely. In 2011 Gwyneth first exhibited her cup drawings as public art installations in several locations around New York City. Her largest installation, of over 850 cup drawings, was on view in the Sprint Flatiron Prow Artspace on 23rd and Broadway, NYC, from September 2011 to February 2012, and was included in "Luxuriant Refuse" at the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Art, outside Houston Texas from June to August 2012. In 2013 she has created site specific cup art installations for City Without Walls Gallery in Newark, NJ, No Longer Empty in NYC and for the Susan Teller Gallery, also in NYC. In September 2013, "365: A Year in Cups", a window installation for Anthropologie Regent Street, was a highlight of the London Design Festival. For over a decade, Gwyneth has been exploring different ideas about public drawing: drawing in public view, drawing with the public, and getting the public to draw. She first drew in the public eye as part of Shiku Haku, a theater piece with Indalo Arts at La MaMa Theatre Club in 2000. In 2010, using the theme of family, she explored getting the public to draw in projects for the Pool Art Fair and for Figment's summer festival on Governor's island in NYC. In 2011-2013 she drew with the public as part of nearly all her cup installations, in NYC, Houston, Boston, London and Edinburgh. A native of Philadelphia, Gwyneth Leech was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. She has exhibited her paintings and drawings widely in Britain and in the United States, including solo exhibitions in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Philadelphia and New York City. In New York City, she has exhibited at Susan Teller Gallery, Franklin 54, La MaMa La Galleria, the Sprint Flatiron Artspace, Art at First and the New York Public Library. Her many awards and grants include a University of Colorado President's Fund Grant, A Greenshields Award, three awards from the Scottish Arts Council and a Thouron Exchange Fellowship.
Education:
Post Graduate DA, 1985, Drawing and Painting,
Edinburgh College of Art, (University of Edinburgh), UK
BFA, 1984, Drawing and Painting,
Edinburgh College of Art, (University of Edinburgh), UK
BA, 1981, Anthropology and French, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Events:
September 2015: "Works on/with Paper", Concepto Gallery, Hudson, NY.
May, 2014: "Time Frames Marking Time", Westbeth Gallery, NYC. Curated by Elisa Decker and Barbara Lubliner.
Exhibitions:
2013
"365 a Year in Cups" will be in the window of Anthropologie Harvard Square, Cambridge MA. November
365 - A Year in Cups, Anthropologie Regent Street, London Design Festival, London, UK, September
2011-2012
Gwyneth Leech, The Cup Drawings, Sprint Flatiron Prow Artspace, New York City
2011
Gwyneth Leech, The Cup Drawings, Fashion Center Window Space for Public Art
New York City
Gwyneth Leech, The Cup Drawings, Buck House, New York City
2010
Family Portraits, Art At First, First Presbyterian Church, New York City
2009
Family Album, New York Public Library, Columbus Branch, New York City
2007
Perfect Families, Southwest Minnesota State University Art Museum, Marshall, MN
2006
Perfect Families, Franklin 54 Gallery, New York City
Gwyneth Leech: Stations of the Cross, Equator Books and Gallery, Venice, CA
2005
Stations of the Cross, a permanent installation of 14 paintings, Saint Paul's Church, Norwalk, CT
2000
Roundabout, La MaMa La Galleria, New York City
1998
Gwyneth Leech, Peterborough Cathedral,
Peterborough Cathedral Arts Festival, UK
1995
African Diary, Boundary Gallery, London, UK
1994
Notes From A Journey, Compass Gallery,
Glasgow, UK
1990
Fossil Tide, Ayr Art Gallery and Museum,
and Kilmarnock Art Gallery and Museum, UK
Fossil, Dundee Museum of Natural History,
UK
1989
Gwyneth Leech, Edinburgh Printmakers' Workshop Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
1988
La Poule, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum, UK (multi-screen video installation)
PUBLIC DRAWING PROJECTS
2013 – Public cup drawing project for No Longer Empty Curatorial Lab exhibition at 24 West 8th, NYC
2012 – Public Drawing workshops and Talks, Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts,
Spring Texas, as part of Luxuriant Refuse.
2011/12 – Five Month residency, public drawing project and exhibition of upcycled coffee cup art, Sprint Flatiron Prow Artspace, NYC.
2012 - Visiting artist talk and cup drawing workshop at the PS51 school, and for eight visiting school groups at the Flatiron exhibition site
2011 – Six week residency, public drawing project and exhibition, Fashion Center Window Space for Public Art, NYC
2010 – Public Drawing Project – Family Tree – as part of Figment Summer Festival, Governor’s Island, NYC
2010 – Public Drawing Project – Family Album – as part of the Pool Art Fair at the Gershwin Hotel, NYC.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2013
City Shift: Leech/Gallagher and the Pintos at Susan Teller Gallery, NYC
Diptychs, Triptychs and Multiples, cWOW, Newark, NJ
Gathering Place, No Longer Empty Curatorial Lab Exhibition, at 24 West 8th Street, NYC
2012
Luxuriant Refuse, Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Art, Spring Texas,
2011
On Your Mark: The Inner Necessity of Methodical and Unrestrained Drawing
Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, New York City
2010
All in the Family, Islip Art Museum, Islip, New York
Helluva Town, Susan Teller Gallery, New York City
Studio on a Bed, a public drawing project, Pool Art Fair, New York City
Family Tree, a public drawing project, Figment Arts Festival, Governor's Island, NYC
2009
Day Job, Susan Teller Gallery, New York City
2007
Unusual Portraits, Hudson Guild Gallery, New York City
2006
Don't Talk about Religion and Politics, Ave 50 Studio Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Imprints on the Landscape, Michael Gallagher Prints and Gwyneth Leech videos,
Community Arts Center Galleries, Penn State University, Altoona, PA
Drawing the Line, Southwest Minnesota State University Art Museum, Marshall, MN
2005
The Family Business: 1877-2005, Susan Teller Gallery, New York City
In the Round, Arts Council Gallery and John Slade Ely House, New Haven, CT
2003
Notebook, Pickard Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art,
Artscape Festival, Baltimore, MD
2002
Leech/Gallagher: Five Artists / Three Generations, Cosmopolitan Club, Philadelphia, PA
2001
Leech/Gallagher: Five Artists/Three Generations, Susan Teller Gallery, NYC
Faculty Exhibition, Addams Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
2000
Shiku Hakku: Exhibition/performance with Indalo Artists, La Mama Experimental Theater Club, New York City
Scottish Spirit, Society of Scottish Artists at the University Art Gallery
Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI
1999
Scottish Spirit, at the Gallery of Contemporary Art University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, CO
Scottish Spirit at Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA
1998
Continental Shift, Six American Artists from Scotland, Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery, UK
Scottish Spirit, at the Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
and at the Centre for Innovative Print and Paper,
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
The Big Picture, Works from the Collection, Edinburgh City Art Galleries
1997
BP Portrait Competition, National Portrait Gallery, London and British tour
Introductions, Hahn Gallery, Philadelphia
Double Exposure, the Society of Scottish Artists,
Peacock Printmakers, Aberdeen,
and the Gallery, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, UK
A Patch of their own, Compass Gallery, Glasgow
1996
African Themes, Surya Art Gallery, Lincoln, Nebraska
Celebrating Robert Burns, Compass Gallery, Glasgow, Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries & McLaurin Art Gallery, Ayr, UK
A Sense of Place III, the SSA at MacRobert Arts Centre, Stirling University, UK
Brave Art, the SSA at Mayfest, 18 King Street Gallery, Glasgow
1995
Morrison Portrait Award Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy
1994
Xylon 12 Triennale, Gewerbemuseum, Switzerland and European tour
Spectator/Adam Award Exhibition, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh
Drawing Near, Arts in Fife touring exhibition, UK
1991
Kershaw, Leech and Lindsley: Wood engravings, Halifax House, Oxford, UK
1990
Duffin, Leech and Roberts, Kelly Gallery, Glasgow
An Expanse of Never Ending Blue, Herbert Read Gallery, Canterbury and British tour
St. Mary's Commission, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow