The Saint-Gaudens Memorial presents the artwork of Courtney M. Leonard in “Breach: Logbook 22 – Bound.” The exhibition is on view in the Picture Gallery at the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park from May 28 to July 12. An opening reception and artist’s talk are scheduled for May 28, at 4:30 p.m. The gallery is located on park grounds at 139 Saint-Gaudens Road in Cornish. Information about park hours and fees are on the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park website, nps.gov/saga.
Leonard is an enrolled citizen of the Shinnecock Nation and, with an artistic practice centered around her Shinnecock ontology, she documents the narratives surrounding cultural futurity and its relationship between Indigenous Peoples and environmental records. The cultural identity of the Shinnecock Nation is deeply rooted in their ancestral territory on the east end of Long Island and the surrounding natural resources. Their long-standing stewardship of the waters and marine life is threatened by the effects of commercial use, pollution, climate change, and altered species migration.
Leonard’s use of mixed materials creates a visual record of these threats and changes. She investigates the roles industry and sourced materials have within the greater context of environmental sustainability and cultural renewal. Her artwork examines the effects these stressors have on marine biology and migration, Indigenous food sovereignty, human impacts, and the evolution of language, personal image, and culture.
“I’m appreciative for the opportunity to show at the park and to reflect on the relationship Saint-Gaudens has with the Connecticut River,” said Leonard. “I’m interested in the exploration and documentation of historical ties to water, wildlife, and material sustainability, and I hope viewers will reflect on their relationship with nature and sustainability.”
Leonard is the 2021 recipient of the Saint-Gaudens Fellowship, an annual award presented to emerging American artists. Every fellowship recipient is selected by a committee consisting of Saint-Gaudens Memorial trustees and artist advisors, including previous fellowship recipients. In addition to receiving a monetary grant, Fellows exhibit their work the following year at the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park.
“We are particularity impressed with the timelessness of Courtney’s artwork and her ability to address the historical issues along with contemporary concerns,” says Inez McDermott, Saint-Gaudens Memorial trustee and member of the fellowship and exhibition committees. “The fellowship committee selected her based on the exceptional quality of her artwork and its ability to explore the Indigenous relationships, history, and ecological aspects of the Connecticut River, all at the same time.”
Leonard has earned additional fellowships, awards, and residencies, including those from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the United States Art in Embassies Program, and the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. Her solo exhibitions span the United States, from the Hood Museum of Art in New Hampshire to the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College in California, and her artwork is in the permanent collections of several museums and galleries. An artist and filmmaker, she earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design and is an assistant professor of art at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.
Incorporated in 1919, the Saint-Gaudens Memorial is a nonprofit organization that promotes the legacy of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) in active partnership with the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, which features the sculptor’s home, studios, gardens, and artworks. The Saint-Gaudens Memorial encourages appreciation of the arts past and present by annually sponsoring a summer concert series, art exhibitions and fellowships, and educational programs, as well as supporting the ongoing conservation and acquisition of objects for the park’s collections.