2023 Award in Craft - Leo Tecosky
Headshot of Leo Tecosky, photo by Nathan J Shaulis
Leo Tecosky
Brooklyn, NY | Glassblower
www.leotecosky.com | @anserglass
About the Artist
Leo Tecosky is a glassblower cross pollinating techniques and reorganizing traditions using principles of the hip hop canon. The movement's four elements–DJing, MCing, breakdancing and graffiti writing– are the foundation of the culture, and using glass Tecosky has become a purveyor of the craft. Adding elements- blowing, cutting, enameling, illuminating- Leo builds on the framework of hip hop expression with the material of glass to open minds to different knowledge. Already embroiled with hip hop since an early age, as a teenager Tecosky got work in a blacksmith's shop, then studied sculpture and learned glass at Alfred University, earning a BA in Fine Art followed by an MFA in Fine Art from The School of Visual Arts. Leo has participated in the GAPP residency at the Toledo Museum of Art as well as residencies at Stockholm Glas and the Pittsburgh Glass Center. Tecosky is the recipient of the 2021 Rakow Commission which supports the development of new works of art in glass and has works in the collections of the Chrysler Museum of Art and the Corning Museum of Glass. Leo lives and blows glass in Brooklyn, New York.
About the Work
Leo Tecosky synthesizes traditional glassblowing, graffiti and Supreme Understanding through the methodology of hip hop- sampling and remixing- to create new works in glass that simultaneously spring from and add on to the ethos of hip hop culture.
Leo Tecosky, The 36th Chamber, 2021, blown, cut and enameled glass, steel, paint, dimensions vary, Collection of the Corning Museum of Glass, Photo Credit The Corning Museum of Glass
Leo Tecosky, Handle, 2003, neon, paint; 36 x 20 x 3 inches, photo courtesy of the artist
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The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Awards in Craft recognizes practitioners committed to material mastery and exploration with practices encompassing the stewardship of living cultural traditions, unique insight in material study, and the advancement of craft at the intersection of other fields including science.
