Devin Leonardi: Shallow Bower

Altman Siegel Gallery is pleased to present the work of New York based painter Devin Leonardi. The exhibition will open on May 29th and run through July 11th. Devin Leonardi has created a group of paintings that are based on American photographs from the 1860’s through the turn of the last century. Each of these photos is a portrait, selected for its ability to depict an intimate view of the past that is also rich with the symbols that make American history legible. Because they provide all the details of a world that has vanished, old photographs offer evidence of both what we’ve lost to time and what we’ve gained from previous generations. In order to strengthen this link to the past, Leonardi works to change these representations from mere symbols to something with more than emblematic weight.