LESLIE POTTER - RETROUVER: Future Landscapes & Artefacts
Reception: N/A
July 15 - August 29
Art Placement is pleased to present the first major exhibition of Leslie Potter’s work at the gallery since 2013. Best known for his largescale outdoor sculptures, which can be found throughout the city, this latest exhibition presents a lesser known side of Potter’s material practice. Exploring collage as a method and an aesthetic, the show brings together a selection of two- and three-dimensional works in a variety of media, all ongoing over the last several years. Intimate and introspective, each work is a meditation on Potter’s identity as an artist as well as larger social and environmental issues. Leslie Potter has been exhibiting his work since the early 1970s, including public commissions for the City of Saskatoon, City of Prince Albert, Town of Outlook, and the University of Saskatchewan. His work can also be found in numerous private and public collections locally and nationally.

Artist Statement:

I have spent the past few months delving into possibilities; not just “what if's” or “thinking outside the box”, but rather trying to recognize and remember who I am as an artist. The landscapes are from a place I have neglected to acknowledge for 40 years and they almost seemed to manifest themselves. Perhaps it comes with age, but I have been thinking about what a future world would look like. These works are concerned with our place and direction in this world. I rarely depict human activity, but that doesn't necessarily preclude it. I am just acutely aware of our invasiveness as a species and our neglect as caretakers of the earth.

Collage is my modus operandi and I have an ample supply of source material to draw from: I have recycled old, unresolved paintings and collaged them on to canvas boards and wood panels. As well, I have used scrap metal to fabricate the artefacts.

- Leslie Potter

Installation images: