Leonardo Drew is the truth. There are so many different kinds of artists in this world, but when I think of him, his focus, and his interrogation of materials, I’m encouraged by his particular clarity within abstraction. Some people would look at his work and think he’s a magician composing his installations and his sculptures, but the magic of his pieces comes from unwavering discipline—his attention to the minutiae. On occasion of his current solo exhibition at Galerie Lelong & Co. in New York City, we speak about his practice and the many facets of his life that have made their way into his art, including his childhood, political identity, filmic inspirations, and a mantra for making: take it all in and give it back. Visit for more information
Drew Shirt
Kennedy Yanko I’m upstate right now in the Catskills writing my graphic novel, and I’ve got two illustrators with me. We’re doing some very deep work; the project is mostly autobiographical, and I’m learning a lot about myself and my work. I’ve been thinking about you and about that moment when you had to decide between your sculpture work and working for a graphic novel company at that time in the world.
Leonardo Drew Over-the-top facility as a draftsman is what drew DC and Marvel to me. At that time, I was clueless about the fine arts. We moved into the projects of Bridgeport, Connecticut, around 1967 from Tallahassee, Florida. I understood art as “see it, feel it, draw it” to the best of your ability. And as far as I knew, it was—until I ran into Jackson Pollock … and that was it! Not too long after, I saw the Pablo Picasso retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, and that capped it. At the same time, I was being scouted by Marvel and DC. DC was working on the Superman movie with Christopher Reeve, and they were using this as a bargaining chip, but it was too late. I had been exposed! I decided to go to school, and that was how it all began.
KY You’re so true to your materiality and the processing of it. Nothing’s fabricated; everything is from sourced materials. You’re very disciplined in not only the way that you serve your body but the way you serve your work and the way you use your body around your work.
LD For some of us, it’s a spiritual, almost religious, endeavor. We work to navigate around conventions like marriage, children, and the white-picket fence—sacrificed for a greater good. As an artist you’re given the license to create new directions. The blessing in this is that it reveals the new or future self. Hopefully, a truer self.
KY Could you talk about getting into your work in the day, including some of the TV shows and movies that you watch?
LD You mean ubiquitous and always on. It goes back to the fact that I lived with five brothers in one room, and I had to make work amongst that energy. I’m aware and can appreciate all things around me. I have a huge movie collection, roughly 3,500 films. Foreign films, anime, old classics, you name it. Great auteurs like Stanley Kubrick, Sergei Eisenstein, Krzysztof Kieślowski. Each has a unique vision and a nuanced understanding of us. How to break down compositions and build new possibilities is what I come away with. 2001: A Space Odyssey is probably one of the best examples of three parts coming together. My methods are similar in that disparate elements come together to create the whole. I had the opportunity back in 1997 to work with Merce Cunningham and found that he used a nearly identical path. I created the art; he worked on the phrasing; and a musician scored the music, all separate from one another. All three elements came together for the first time on opening night. It’s fraught with the idea that you could fall flat on your face, but it holds the very juice of creativity.022.