The Heckscher Museum of Art and Planting Fields Foundation are pleased to present the work of artist Courtney M. Leonard (b. Shinnecock, 1980), on Long Island this summer, through COURTNEY M. LEONARD: Logbook 2004–2023 at The Heckscher Museum and BREACH: Logbook 23 | ROOT at Planting Fields Foundation.
Visit Heckscher.org and Plantingfields.org for more information about these two dynamic exhibitions, including new commissioned work by Leonard, and related programming at each location.
Leonard’s powerful work in ceramics, painting, video, and installation engages with Long Island’s colonial history; celebrates Indigenous knowledge and resilience; and addresses urgent ecological issues. The exhibition debuts Contact, 2,023…, a new work that The Heckscher Museum has commissioned from Leonard. The large-scale work is a map of Long Island made up of thousands of individual porcelain thumbprints resembling shells. Leonard glazed them in colors and patterns that reference both wampum and delftware. The exhibition also features loans from the artist and from public and private collections.
Courtney M. Leonard: Logbook 2004–2023
The Heckscher Museum of Art | 2 Prime Avenue, Huntington, NY 11743
June 10, 2023 – November 12, 2023
BREACH: Logbook 23 | ROOT
Planting Field Foundation | 1395 Planting Fields Road, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
FEATURED ARTWORK: CONTACT 2,023
Courtney M. Leonard, “Contact, 2,023…”, 2023, porcelain, enamel and red iron oxide transfers, artificial sinew, canvas, brass, 4 x 8 x 2′.
The Heckscher Museum of Art. Museum Purchase: Partial Funding from the Town of Huntington Art Acquisition Fund. Photo courtesy of The Heckscher Museum Art.
EXHIBITION CATALOG
Courtney M. Leonard is an exhibition catalogue that documents Leonard’s site-specific commission at Planting Fields, as well as a mid-career retrospective at the Hecksher Museum of Art. It also features an interview with Courtney M. Leonard, new photography, and essays from various contributors. The book was designed by Jeffrey Jenkins, edited by Gina J. Wouters, and features contributions from Courtney M. Leonard, Shavonne Smith, Karli Wurzelbacher, Emily Leger, and more. New photography of the site-specific commission at Planting Fields and the exhibition at the Heckscher Museum of Art were captured by David Almeida.
Courtney M. Leonard is available for purchase ($25 plus tax) in-person at the Planting Fields Foundation Visitor Center. It it also available on the Ferrin Contemporary online shop.
PAST PROGRAMMING
Panel: Shinnecock Art & Activism
Saturday, October 21, 2023
10:30 – 11:30 am
Shinnecock artist Courtney M. Leonard and Full Spectrum Indigenous Birth Worker (doula), Ahna Red Fox, discuss how motherhood has informed their work as activists. Leonard’s powerful work in ceramics, painting, video, and installation addresses urgent ecological issues and explores historical ties to water, land, and material culture. Her first retrospective exhibition, COURTNEY M. LEONARD: Logbook 2004-2023, is currently on view at The Heckscher Museum.
Members Free; Shinnecock Nation Members Free; Non-Members $10
Space is limited, advance registration required.
EVENT: Book Signing with Courtney M. Leonard
Saturday, October 21, 2023
11:30 – 12:30 pm
Meet Courtney M. Leonard as she signs copies of her exhibition catalogue, published by Planting Fields Foundation and The Heckscher Museum of Art. Books available for purchase, $20 Members and $25 Non-Members.
PRESS
Courtney M. Leonard is an artist and filmmaker, who has contributed to the Offshore Art movement. Leonard’s current work embodies the multiple definitions of “breach”, an exploration and documentation of historical ties to water, whale and material sustainability.
In collaboration with national and international museums, cultural institutions, and indigenous communities in North America, New Zealand, Nova Scotia, and the United States Embassies, Leonard’s practice investigates narratives of cultural viability as a reflection of environmental record.
