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Michael Leavitt
Myscapes
February 9th to March 5th 2008
Artist Reception
Saturday, February 9th, 6:00 to 10:00pm
For his "Myscapes" solo show at Ballard's Gallery 63 Eleven, local artist Mike Leavitt is reviving Seattle's boring conceptual art and landscaping painting. Known for his "Art Army" action figures and wedding cake toppers, Leavitt's new small-scale landscapes are a curio oddity. Tiny painted scenes are squeezed into the undersized surfaces of objects such as guitar picks, windshield scrapers, ceramic dishes, and copper pennies.
Many of Seattle's recently departed landmarks are recorded, including The Crocodile Café, Sunset Bowl, The Pink "Toe" Truck, and the Sit & Spin. Leavitt's new "Penny Places" also capture local icons, such as Dick's Drive-In, Scarecrow Video, Georgetown's Hat & Boots, and the Olympic Sculpture Park. Miniscule, 3/4" round landscapes depict the actual location where he finds the "lucky" pennies. The exclusive series sold out of Leavitt's 2007 New York City debut. The new 2008 editions take it up a notch, as the painted penny is now embedded within a larger, acrylic, "real" painting of the same location.
Leavitt's action figures and "ArtCard" artist trading cards followed a recurring concept. He is once again walking the line between the campy fodder of tourist kitsch and the corny humor of pop art. The ugly middle ground is Leavitt's warm fuzzy comfort zone, where politics and cultural values are hotly contested. This time it's personal, as a native tightly tuned to a gentrifying Seattle landscape. Lost landmarks are documented alongside quirky geographic treasures. Nostalgia, serendipity, and fleeting memories are chained to real estate development. What isn't grounded is brought back down to earth by Leavitt's landscapes.
What's lost in Seattle is found in Mike Leavitt's new art.
Mike Leavitt will be in the gallery on Saturday March 1st, from 11 to 5pm
Michael Leavitt
"Scarecrow Penny Place"
10" x 5" x 1"
Acrylic on wood panel, acrylic on copper penny
Michael Leavitt
"Vashon Penny Place"
10" x 5" x 1"
acrylic on wood panel, acrylic on copper penny
Michael Leavitt
"Olympic Sculpture Park Penny Place"
10" x 5" x 1"
acrylic on wood panel, acrylic on copper penny
Michael Leavitt
"Crocodile Guitar Pick"
1" x 1.5"
acrylic on plastic pick
Michael Leavitt
"Elephant Car Wash Windshield Scraper"
2" x 5" x 1"
acrylic on plastic scraper
Michael Leavitt
"Beacon Hill Penny Place"
10" x 5" x 1"
acrylic on wood panel, acrylic on copper penny
More works in this exhibit
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