Leslie Leupp (American, 1944-2011), The Trouble with Beauty is...Revised

1991, cakestand comprised of sterling silver, anodized aluminum, plastic, and Hershey's Kiss wrappers, assembled as four Venus torso columns and a fifth in Classical fluted Doric style, supporting a round terrace, unsigned. Included with the Lot is an exhibition press release booklet, artist biography/CV, and appraisal, slides of the work from a University lecture, and written correspondence between the artist and the owner.

7 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 9 1/4 in.

The Contemporary Art Collection of Francine & Benson Pilloff, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Exhibited Silver: New Forms & Expressions III,1991-1992. A traveling exhibition at Fortunoff, New York, NY; National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, Tennessee; Union Art Gallery, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Newport Art Museum, Newport Rhode Island; Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Ocean Springs. Mississippi.

Exhibited Contemporary American Metalworking; Form and Narrative, 1993, Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Illinois.

One of eight children born to Mennonite parents, Leslie Leupp grew up in a farming community in northwestern Ohio. Leupp credits the hard work ethic of working on the farm, and the presence of quilting in the community as early influences on his work. The geometric design elements, the patterns and colors, and the precision of fitting pieces together, all are characteristics shared in Leupp's jewelry and other works.

In describing his own artwork, Leupp shares "I'm leaving saw marks and cuts on some of the edges. I'm trying to loosen up and play with the human quality and even with human error in contrast to treating the metal in a slick, industrial way. I'm also continuing to explore the contrasts found in nature and in products of industry. I've been seeing things along the road that interest me and torn out walls of buildings with advertising signs projecting through the rubble." This juxtaposition expresses an intriguing kind of vitality and validity, which offers a strange unexpected unity for which Leupp's artistry is known and where it thrives.

Leslie was a guest lecturer at many Universities, Workshops, and Jewelry Institutions. Leupp was a dedicated professor of art, his teaching experience included Penn State University, Pennsylvania (1988-2006); Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas (1983-1988); Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (1970-1973/1978-1983); Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana (1973-1978).

He received his Associate of Arts from Hesston Junior College, Hesston, Kansas; a Bachelor of Arts from Bethel College, N. Newton, Kansas, and MFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design from Indiana University.

Good estate condition.