NYAB Event - Leah Montalto "Weapons of Mass Construction"

Leah Montalto "Weapons of Mass Construction"

Priska C. Juschka Fine Art

This event has ended.

Priska C. Juschka Fine Art present Weapons of Mass Construction, Leah Montalto's first solo exhibition in New York City. Drawing on principles of nanotechnology-the science of programming molecules to self-assemble on a mass scale-Montalto depicts various states of evolution as raw mass and matter morph into utilitarian architectural entities.

Employing a modernist approach, Montalto's paintings provide an expansive view of distant future civilizations borne of scientific ingenuity. These perspectives reflect the potential intrinsic to new technologies that aim to seize control of the raw components of nature, eventually reassembling them into superior structures of living.

In her intuitive works, Montalto presents obsidian formations floating in space-caught in the midst of transformation from useless to functional structures. Gray and brown forms represent basic elements such as dust, stone, and planetary debris, while man-made matter such as metal, glass, and futuristic materials are reflected in a range of yellow, green, and red palettes. As the raw materials slowly surrender to those fabricated by man, the formation evolves into a new substance that will ultimately serve as the basis for a progressive habitat.

Leah Montalto was born in Boston, MA. She received her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI. Her work has been included in several exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad, including the Gongju International Art Exhibition at the Limlip Museum in Seoul, Korea and most recently the National Academy of Design in New York, NY for which she received the Hallgarten Prize. She currently lives in New York, NY and works in Queens, NY while holding an Assistant Professor position at Sarah Lawrence College.