David Lefkowitz (b. 1962) lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. Assistant Professor of Art, Carleton College (since 1997); MFA, University of Illinois–Chicago (1990); BA, Carleton College (1985)

“The five reclamation projects in Topics for Further Discussion continue my longstanding interest in the relation of image to object by combining representational imagery with actual physical detritus.

“I begin each piece by considering the potential of particular cast-off building materials, packaging residue, or yard waste. Each substance is altered, rearranged, drawn, or painted upon in a reverie of adaptive reuse.

“All five pieces share the rectangle or grid as a common formal element. The rectangle serves as a sign of the painting or picture, the framed view. I see the rectangle/framed view functions as a metaphor for the human impulse to gain mastery over the environment by imposing abstract structures.

“As one peruses the five works, vantage points change and the scale shifts dramatically, requiring a reorientation as the viewer moves from piece to piece. The images range from the close-up detail of a single tree painted on many pieces of scrap lumber, to semi-abstract paintings on ceiling tile that suggest land masses seen from a satellite hovering hundreds of miles above Earth.”

Selected One-person Exhibitions

• 2004: Improvised Structures, DCKT Contemporary, New York City; La Videbla Mondo, Thomas Barry Fine Arts, Minneapolis
• 2002: The Surrounding Area, No Name Gallery at the Soap Factory, Minneapolis
• 2001: Building Materialism, University of Wisconsin–Stout, Memomonie, Wisconsin
• 2000: Natural Curiosities, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; Pictures of Common Detritus, Northwestern College, St. Paul
• 1998: Wood By-Products, Rochester Art Center, Rochester, Minnesota; Just Add Water (with Janet Pihlblad), Gallery A, Chicago
• 1997: Nature World, Minneapolis Institute of Art
• 1996: New Data, Mankato State University, Mankato, Minnesota
• 1992: Small and Medium Paintings, Center for Contemporary Art, Chicago

Selected Group Exhibitions

• 2004: Uncanny Visions: Contemporary Romantic Landscapes, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, North Dakota; Drawing: 7 Curatorial Visions, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
• 2003: Hybrids, Wave Hill, New York City; Natural Selection, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago; Nature as Abstraction, Rochester Art Center, Rochester, Minnesota
• 2002: Ingrained, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, Illinois
• 2001: Amused, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago; Minnesota Art with a Twist, Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis
• 2000: A Broad View, Central Michigan University Gallery, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
• 1999: Botanica, Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, Minnesota (tour); Nature as Source, Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania
• 1998: Aloud, ARC Gallery, Chicago
• 1997: 10,000 Lincoln Cheese Logs, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin (tour); How to Describe a Suspect, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago

Grants, Awards, and Fellowships

• 2003: Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship; Margaret Klimek Phillips Fellowship
• 2002: Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship
• 1996: Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship
• 1994: Arts Midwest/NEA Regional Visual Artists Fellowship
• 1993: Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship
• 1992: McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowship

Commissions

• 2003: Target Corporation, Minneapolis
• 1997: Accenture Consulting, Minneapolis
• 1992: Dain Rauscher Corporation, Minneapolis