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Valerie Leeds,
guest curator of
Winthrop University Galleries' "Edmund
Lewandowski – Precisionism and
Beyond"
exhibition, will discuss the late
Lewandowski's artistic career.
She works as adjunct curator of
American art for the
Flint Institute of Arts in
Flint, Mich., which organized this
first-ever exhibition on
Lewandowski's accomplished career as
a muralist and painter who embraced
Precisionism, an American painting
style that depicted industrial
scenes and architectural motifs,
void of human figures as subjects,
in a near-abstract manner. Leeds
will explore
Lewandowski's designation as "the
Last Precisionist" and his focus on
the industrialized world in his
work.
"Widely
acknowledged as the preeminent
second-generation Precisionist,
Lewandowski celebrates the
industrialized Midwest in his art,"
Leeds
noted. "He felt an affinity to the
Precisionists, artists who were
responsible for elevating industrial
subject matter and asserting it as
emblematic of the modern world."
Leeds
worked previously as curator of
American art at the Orlando Museum
of Art in Orlando, Fla., and the
Tampa Museum of Art in Tampa, Fla.,
She earned her B.A. in art history
at the University of Rochester in
New York, her M.A. in art history
(with a focus on 19th-century
European art) at Syracuse University
and her Ph.D. in art history at the
City University of New York.
"Edmund Lewandowski – Precisionism
and Beyond"
explores the work of Lewandowski, an
acclaimed muralist and a standout in
the Precisionist movement. Raised in
the industrial environment of
Milwaukee, Wis., Lewandowski's
surroundings impacted his artistic
development profoundly. Later in his
life, from 1973-84, he was chair of
Winthrop’s Department of Art and
Design and became an important
artist, activist and mentor in Rock
Hill.
The
exhibition will continue through
Dec. 9. Winthrop University
Galleries will offer special weekend
hours during the retrospective, with
"Precisionism and Beyond"
available for viewing noon
- 4 p.m. on
Nov. 13-14. Regular gallery hours
are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
and galleries will be closed Nov.
25-26.
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