Leslie Shows: Surfacing

Rich with myriad details and varied textures, the surfaces of Leslie Shows’s collaged paintings reward careful study. In them, one might find rust, plexiglass, mylar, acrylic paint, mica, magazine cutouts, crushed glass, mud, ink, sand, and engraved aluminum. An avid researcher and expansive thinker, Shows diligently and creatively explores the fluid dynamics of our material world. The slow shifts of glaciers, the crystalline formation of minerals, and the stellar origins of water have all inspired her work. Presently, the artist is developing a new series drawing on the centuries-old history of the ways in which people have transformed matter and given it new shape—from ancient lost-wax casting techniques to modern-day injection molding technologies. SMoCA visitors will have the opportunity to see the debut of these exciting new paintings in the artist’s first solo museum exhibition.