James Leonard’s multi-disciplinarian works are drawn from his interaction with the world around him, touching on themes both timeless and urgent. At Open Source Gallery, Leonard is presenting “927 Days at Sea.” Witty and politically charged, the exhibition includes his “No Fishing” paintings, “Anchor and Chain” sculptures, and an “'un-Sucide Note”, which “unless between now and then he has died of causes unforeseen,” still holds true.

In presenting these odd elements of Americana and distorting them through subtle shifts in form, context and scale, Leonard creates a dynamic between the viewer and the work. He writes: “I want my works to generate complex meanings, meanings that tumble from clarity into contradiction: chaos and then back again.”

Confronting the mystery of human cognition is at the heart of Leonard’s studio practice. Unable or unwilling to work consistently in one medium, he chooses the material that best suits his conceptual needs. The “No Fishing Signs” are painted on cardboard remnants, words are crossed out and others added, creating an overall affect of ironic discomfiture. His handcrafted “Anchor and Chain” contains a subtler humor. Woven from delicate wire and hot sculpted and hand ground glass, their fragility undermines the object’s traditional use, to anchor. The “un-Suicide Note" communicates with the viewer in the form of a suicide note. Leonard, however, declares his intention to live.

James Leonard’s serious concerns and cynicism regarding humanity are buoyed by a lively sense of humor. This is an artist adrift in a sea of complexity, who endeavors to fish for meaning in an absurd world.