LESLIE SHOWS
(SECA AWARD, 2006)
“It was great to be recognized for what I was doing, after starting out in S.F. as an undergrad at SFAI [the San Francisco Art Institute], learning about artists like Jess, Bruce Conner and Jay DeFeo, going to shows at SFMOMA, and then later showing my work there. It was such a dream. Career moves were not my main motivator, and I didn’t know about SECA before I was nominated for it in 2006, but once that process started, it made a lot of other opportunities possible. I really loved working with Janet Bishop, she is so supportive of artists.
“Later SFMOMA put the piece they bought from the SECA show in their anniversary show (2009), in a room with a lot of other S.F. artists from the late ’90s and early 2000s. It was nice to be included in the narrative of that time period, because I always felt like I was out in the wilderness making my own world most of the time, but I saw a shared rough quality in everyone’s work, a sensibility of using whatever was around, and it was interesting to see that time through an institutional lens.
“As part of SECA’s public programs, I invited one of my favorite writers and philosophers, Manuel DeLanda, to speak there, which was really thrilling. I participated in a lot of different events at SFMOMA, and it’s great how much they enfold local artists into their programming. I feel really proud to be part it.
“Right now I’m working on a large permanent artwork for the new subway station underneath Moscone Center, right near SFMOMA. It’s through the San Francisco Arts Commission, but getting the SECA Award 100 percent helped pave the way for it. I spent 19 years in San Francisco, and maybe because I’ve relocated to L.A., it’s so important to me that I have work in the museum’s collection and feel connected to its history and to the city.”