Philadelphia Visionary Artist Leo Sewell is our
Editor's Choice Award Winner for Favorite Assemblage Artist of all time. It's not only that we love the fact he is indeed a self taught-artist....(Sewell admits
in this video that he's only had a 50 minute formal art class,) but we also love his dumpster diving skills. On that aspect, who else can see an elephant visually come to life out of all these pieces of discarded trash items?
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| Elephant made with recognizable upcycled pieces of trash and treasure. Credit: Leo Sewell. |
Sewell's pieces come from items found in curbside trash, yard sales, flea markets, bags left from customers on his doorknob, (and perhaps the off-the-radar occasional dumpster dive ...) Sewell's work has made the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum's permanent collections (23 times and counting) and been featured on numerous TV shows and
YouTube videos. Companies, museums, and private individuals covet his pieces that sell in the thousands.
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| This terrier looks quite friendly, he's got a friend in Pennsylvania. Credit: Leo Sewell. |
We salute him mainly for the mere fact he has stayed true to his life long love for trash and discarded treasure and built his career on his passion. Sewell's resume of over 4000 artworks to date includes 40' installations in major museums to small sculptures of dogs and cats. If doing what you love proves successful, Sewell is prime example of that. Sewell's ability to Reclaim and Reuse the found object, keeping these otherwise-unloved and discarded items out of the trash, dumpsters, and landfills have made him an eco friendly assemblage artist. Long before the Eco-Artist movement was in effect, there was Leo Sewell.
Further Reading / Viewing:
Leo Sewell Official Site
Trash Talkin' Video with Leo Sewell
Leo Sewell Experience
NDI Gallery
Wikipedia
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