Drew Leshko
American, b. 1983
In 2019, MA was commissioned to design a custom illuminated sign to fill an 80-foot stretch of vacant scaffolding on top of a 12-story building in Brooklyn Heights. For nearly 50 years prior to the vacancy, the scaffolding contained a sign that beamed the word “WATCHTOWER” in giant red letters over the East River.
Like MA’s approach to architectural design, MA Art pays close attention to historical context while also looking toward the future. In sans-serif block letters, with illuminated letterforms nearly identical to the former sign’s giant red channel-letters, the new word “WELCOME” shines as a beacon of hospitality across the New York Harbor.
The model on view was made by Philadelphia-based artist Drew Leshko. At 30 inches long, the sculpture is 1:32 scale of the 80-foot version. By carving, cutting, and layering varieties of paper and wood, he creates documentary studies of architecture and objects from his neighborhood in an attempt to create a three dimensional archive of buildings and other structures that are in transitional periods. MA commissioned Leshko to create a model sculpture of the sign that would welcome visitors to the office the same way the 80-foot version welcomes visitors to New York.
Leshko’s work has been exhibited internationally. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Urban Nation Museum in Berlin, the Dean Collection in New York City, the West Collection in Philadelphia, and Iron State Development’s corporate collection in Hoboken, as well as many private collections throughout the world.
