Ok, I’m quite sure this guy could make anything. This is a series titled, you guessed it, “Buildings” by Philadelphia based artist Drew Leshko. The level of detail and his choice of facades is fantastic, but you know what’s just as great? His artist statement:
“By carving, cutting, and layering varieties of paper and wood, Leshko creates documentary studies of architecture from his neighborhood in an attempt to create a three dimensional archive of buildings that are in transitional periods. The work examines gentrification and history, how historical relevance is determined, and most importantly, what is worth preserving. Working from observation and photographs, the artist painstakingly recreates building facades from his neighborhood at a 1:12 scale. The scale is familiar for some viewers as standard dollhouse spec; the treatment to the buildings is widely different. The minute detail of his work includes city detritus such as dumpsters and pallets, which are commentary of the same ideas of what is worth preserving. Highlighting quick fixes and simple solutions, Leshko’s work begs the viewer to build their own ideas of why and when these changes had been made. Accumulations of typically overlooked details and minutiae like acid rain deposits and rust become beautiful adornments.”
Beautiful, sad, brilliant.
These are beautiful.
They remind me of the neighborhood I grew up in DC, which is now, 25 years later, becoming gentrified. But in the 90’s H Street and Capitol Hill looked a whole lot like this…
oh wow! well, i think that is exactly drew’s plan with this work : )
Such a refreshing contrast to the normal dollhouse/model mindset of making everything perfect, pristine, fake… instead adding in all the real-life details that make a building a building, which rusts, ages, and has random pallets lying around. Amazing work.