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Leo Sewell (born ) is an American " found object" artist. His assemblages of recycled material are in over 40 museums and in private collections worldwide.


Biography

Sewell was born in Annapolis, Maryland,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and moved to
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
in 1974. As a child in Annapolis, he "recalls the 'excitement of tinkering' with stuff he discovered and recovered during walks in the woods and visits to the naval-community dump." As an adult, Sewell earned a B.A. in Business and an M.A. in Art History at the
University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...
, where he wrote his Masters thesis on the "Use of the Found Object in Dada and Surrealism". However, he never had formal studio training, which places him in the
Visionary art Visionary art is art that purports to transcend the physical world and portray a wider vision of awareness including spiritual or mystical themes, or is based in such experiences. History The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, first estab ...
category. Sewell's art follows naturalistic themes, and animals feature prominently in his creations. His collage-like sculpture is assembled from metal, wood, and plastic that he collects from trash, yard sales, and flea markets. For some commissions, he uses objects, often of sentimental value or with personal meaning, contributed by the patron who has commissioned the art. Sewell has produced over 4,000 works over the last 50 years. His art has been seen on children's television shows, including '' Captain Noah'' and '' Mr. Roger's Neighborhood'', and features in the permanent collections of 23 Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums worldwide, as well as in museums such as the
American Visionary Art Museum The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) is an art museum located in Baltimore, Maryland's Federal Hill neighborhood at 800 Key Highway. The museum specializes in the preservation and display of outsider art (also known as "intuitive art," "raw ...
(Baltimore, Maryland), the Chicago Children's Museum (Chicago, IL), the Garbage Museum (Stratford, CT), the Museo de Sera International (Madrid, Spain), the
Please Touch Museum The Please Touch Museum is a children's museum located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The museum focuses on teaching children through interactive exhibits and special events, mostly aimed at children seven years ...
(Philadelphia, PA), and the Shonandai Cultural Center (Fujisawa, Japan). His work is also collected by corporations including
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and
Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...
, and Sewell has produced
public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...
works for institutions, including the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...
and local state environmental protection offices. In 1997, Sewell showed in "Hello Again!", a recycled art focused show which opened at the
Oakland Museum The Oakland Museum of California or OMCA (formerly the Oakland Museum) is an interdisciplinary museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California, located adjacent to Oak Street, 10th Street, and 11th Street in Oakland, Cal ...
and travelled throughout North America. The show, curated by Susan Subtle, featured Sewell alongside other artists Mildred Howard, Mark Bulwinkle, Clayton Bailey, Claire Graham, Jan Yager, Remi Rubel, Pippa Garner, and others. Sewell is a member and co-founder of the artists' group called the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers. One of Sewell's sculptures of two life-sized adults in a sitting position was reportedly found in a basement rec room of Barry & Honey Sherman, a Toronto couple who were victims of a yet to be solved double-homicide. https://www.toronto.com/news-story/9772948-barry-and-honey-sherman-s-bodies-were-found-posed-like-the-sculptures-in-their-basement/


References


Bibliography

* Alterio, Michael Moran.
An artist creates with found objects — found at the flea market
" ''FleaMarketZone.com: Sumner Communications (Bethel, CT)'' 26 Apr. 2011. * "Artists Turn Trash to Treasure to Help Save Garbage Museum." ''Milford Mirror (CT)'' 8 Apr. 2010, News: 9A. ''NewsBank''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * Burrell, Jackie. "Candy Sculpture at San Jose’s Tech Museum." ''Contra Costa Times: Blogs (Walnut Creek, CA)'' 27 Oct. 2009, Apparently Speaking: Np. ''NewsBank''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * "Eco Arts: Sculptures Made from Found Materials Display the Beauty of Recycling." ''Instablogs.com'' 15 Oct. 2009. ''General OneFile''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * Firmin, Pam. "From Gulfport, with Junk: Sculptor Sees Art Everywhere." ''Sun Herald, The (Biloxi, MS)'' 25 April 2006, Local-Front: A2. ''Newspaper Source''. Web. 14 Aug 2010. * "Garbage Museum Shows Art Made from Others' Trash." ''Stratford Star (CT)'' 22 Apr. 2010, News: 11A. ''NewsBank''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * Grundahl, Nancy. "Leo Sewell's 'Found Objects' Exhibiting at EPA." ''Environmental Protection Agency''. 5 Jan. 2004. Web. 13 August 2010. * Jackson, Danielle. "Recycling Your American Pride." ''Waste Age'' 32.12 (2001): 50. ''Vocational and Career Collection''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * Kenny, William. "Kids Won't Hear "Hands off!' - at the Please Touch Museum." ''Northeast Times (Philadelphia, PA)'' 6 Nov. 2008: n. pag. ''NewsBank''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * McCoy, Bett Norcross. "The Art of Junk: Sculptor Scavenges Trash to Create Works of Art." ''Press of Atlantic City, The (NJ)'' 20 Jan. 2000, Lifestyle/Art: B1. ''NewsBank''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * O'Connell, Kaelin. "Philadelphia Artist Leo Sewell Is One Man Who Truly Believes that One Person's Trash Is Another's Treasure.." ''Gloucester County Times, The (NJ)'' 5 May 2007: n. pag. ''NewsBank''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * Rosenberg, Amy S. "Give Me Your Toys: A Scavenger Sculptor Hunts for the Perfect Playthings so that Lady Liberty Can Lift her Lamp beside the New Please Touch Museum." ''Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA'') 8 May 2007: City-D, Features magazine: E01. ''Newspaper Source''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * "Sculptures Prove One Man's Junk Can Be Art." ''Brattleboro Reformer (VT)'' 16 Aug. 2001, n. pag. ''NewsBank''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * "Trash Museum Worth a Visit Sculpture Represents Connecticut's Annual Waste per Person: Schoolchildren, Other Visitors Find Garbage Exhibitions Eye-opening." ''Free Lance-Star, The (Fredericksburg, VA)'' 19 Apr. 2009,: n. pag. ''NewsBank''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010. * "Visionary Arts Museum Returns to its Inspired Roots - Art Review." ''Sun, The (Baltimore, MD'') 5 Oct. 2008, Final, Arts & Entertainment: 3E. ''NewsBank''. Web. 14 Aug. 2010.


External links




Please Touch Museum Liberty Arm & Torch
* ttp://www.udel.edu/PR/Messenger/97/3/JUNK.html University of Delaware Messenger Articlebr>Leo Sewell Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sewell, Leo Artists from Philadelphia Living people 1945 births Recycled art artists