Dennis Leon
"Urban Stones #5," 1988
collage and pastel
60 x 89 in.
An important member of the Land Art movement in the United States, Dennis Leon’s (1933-1998) interventions in the natural environment were distinctly different in their intention and execution from those of his contemporaries, including Agnes Denes, Andy Goldsworthy, Michael Heizer, Nancy Holt, and Robert Smithson. Leon would spend hours studying a site before making his mark on the land, creating drawings in pastel and collage to visualize himself in the space and how it might look. Leon’s site specific works in the land could be as simple as inserting a series of painted wooden dowels into the ground along a hillside, or entail the creation of bronze and/or textual elements that were then integrated into the site to appear as if they had always been there.
His early engagements in the late 1960s and early 1970s were mostly guerilla actions that appeared without warning or sanction in the hills, wild spaces, and marginal areas of the San Francisco Bay Area. The works would remain in place until wind, water, or human hands disrupted them, sometime only hours after they were completed. Leon sought to bring together the nuance of the observed, the constructed, the acted upon, and the evolved in each of his works. As his reputation grew, Leon’s installations began to be commissioned for both public and private spaces, one of the most significant being Untitled, which was installed at Oliver Ranch in 1993. Parallel to the creation of his installations, Leon mounted numerous gallery and museum exhibitions of his paintings, drawings, and collages paired with his bronze and wood sculptures across the United States until his passing. Many of these works were related to his site interventions, though there are numerous series Leon created that are independent of them.
Dennis Leon was born in London, England in 1933. During the Blitz, he and his brother were evacuated to Wales. The family moved to Leeds in West Yorkshire after the war where Dennis studied at the Roundhay School and dreamed of a career in medicine while spending free time drawing everything around him. Leon and his parents immigrated to the US in 1951 and settled in Philadelphia, where he initially applied to Temple University as a pre-med student, but switched to art on the advice of his counselor. He went on to earn his BS in Education, as well as his BFA, and an MFA in 1959 from the university’s Tyler School of Art. An ROTC student at Tyler, Leon entered the U.S. Army and remained in the Army Reserve until 1963. After his active duty, he became the art critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1959 and continued in that role until 1962. In 1959, Leon also joined the faculty of the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts) and served as the Director of the Fine Arts Department (1965-67) and the Sculpture Department (1967-1970).
In 1972, Leon accepted an invitation to serve as a guest faculty member at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland (now California College of Arts, San Francisco). In 1973, he was appointed Chairman of CCAC's sculpture department, a position he retained until 1992. In 1993 he retired as Professor Emeritus from the school, and CCAC honored him with a Distinguished Faculty Award and an Honorary Doctorate. Dennis Leon died in in Oakland, CA in 1998.
Leon was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1979. He also was awarded fellowships and residencies from The Glass Art Society, Headlands Center for the Arts, Djerassi Foundation, MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, as well as recognition from the National Institute of Arts and Letters.
Leon's work is in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Storm King Art Center, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Oakland Museum of California, San Jose Museum of Art, Crocker Art Museum, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, and American University Art Museum at the Katzen Art Center (Corcoran Collection), among many others. His permanent, site-specific outdoor installations can be found at the Oliver Ranch Foundation, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Greenwood Plaza in Greenwood Village, CO, and numerous locations around the San Francisco Bay Area.
DENNIS LEON
Born 1933, England, UK
Died 1998, Oakland, California
EDUCATION
Honorary Doctorate, California College of Arts & Crafts, Oakland, CA
MFA, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
BFA, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
BS, Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1972-93
Chairman, Sculpture Department, California College of Arts & Crafts, Oakland, CA
1967-70
Director, Sculpture Department, Philadelphia Museum College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1959-70
Faculty, Philadelphia Museum College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1959-62
Art Critic, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA
GRANTS, AWARDS, AND FELLOWSHIPS
1994
Keynote Speaker, The Glass Art Society, Seattle, WA
1993
Distinguished Faculty Award, California College of Arts & Crafts
1984
Marin Headlands Art Center, Sausalito, CA
Djerassi Foundation Fellowship, Woodside, CA
1983
Djerassi Foundation Fellowship, Woodside, CA
1982
MacDowell Colony Fellowship, Peterborough, NH
1979
National Endowments for the Arts
Yaddo Artist Residency, Saratoga Springs, NY
1978
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Golden Gate National Recreation Area
1967
John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, New York, NY
National Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025
Dennis Leon: Collage, Pastels and Sculpture 1975-1990, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1993
Cheryl Haines Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1992
Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1991
Chemeketa Community College, Salem, OR
Anne Reid Gallery, Ketchum, ID
Cheryl Haines Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Butters Gallery, Portland, OR
1990
Dennis Leon, Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
California State University, Fresno, CA
1989
Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1988
J. Noblett Gallery, Sonoma, CA
1987
J. Noblett Gallery, Sonoma, CA
1986
Fuller Goldeen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1984
Fuller Goldeen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1982
Fuller Goldeen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1981
San Jose Museum of Fine Arts, San Jose, CA
Fuller Goldeen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1979
Fuller Goldeen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1978
Galleria D’Arte Del Cavallino, Venice, Italy
1977
Hansen Fuller Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1973
James Willis Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1971
Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1970
Kraushaar Gallery, NY, NY
1968
Kraushaar Gallery, NY, NY
1966
Kraushaar Gallery, NY, NY
1965
Henri Gallery, Washington, D.C.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016
The Poker Game and its Circle, Group Exhibition, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
1997
In Their Nature, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Rental Gallery, CA
From Plastic Form to Printer's Plate: 16 Contemporary Sculptor/Printmakers, Exhibits USA, Western Washington University Gallery, Bellingham WA
1996
From Plastic Form to Printer's Plate: 16 Contemporary Sculptor/Printmakers, Exhibits USA, Texas Tech University, Forum of the Visual Arts, Lubbock, TX
From Plastic Form to Printer's Plate: 16 Contemporary Sculptor/Printmakers, Exhibits USA, Loveland Museum, CO
1995
From Plastic Form to Printer's Plate: 16 Contemporary Sculptor/Printmakers, Exhibits USA, University of North Texas, Art Gallery, Denton, TX
Facing Eden: 100 Years of Landscape in the Bay Area, M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA
1994
Dennis Leon and Morley Clark, J. Noblett Gallery, Boyes Hot Springs, CA
The Romance of the California Landscapes, San Jose, CA
1993
The Romantic Landscape, Holmes Fine Art Gallery, San Jose, CA
Metal Sculpture, California State University, Hayward, CA
1992
Sixteen Sculptors, Oliver Art Center, Oakland, CA
1991
Monochrome, Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1990
Woodblocks, Etchings, Lithographs, Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
The Undiminished Landscape, Security Pacific, San Francisco, CA
A Natural Order, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
Against the Grain, Oliver Art Museum, Oakland, CA
1989
Quiet, The Oakland Museum, CA
Topography, Fuller Gross Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Off Site: Artists in Response to the Environment, Richmond Art Center, CA
1988
Private Reserve, Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Drawings by Ten, Mandeville Gallery, University of California, San Diego
Professors' Choice, Claremont Colleges, CA
Bay Area Sculptors, University of California, Davis
Bronze Sculptors, Walnut Creek Art Gallery, CA
1987
Bay Area Drawings, Richmond Art Center, CA
1986
The Impression of Drawing, Fuller Goldeen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1984
New Impressions, World Print Council, San Francisco, CA
1983
Resource Reservoir, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA
1982
Affects/Effects, Philadelphia College of Art, PA
1981
California: The State of the Landscape, Newport Harbor Art Museum and Santa Barbara Museum of Art, CA
1979
Recreation, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA
1977
America '76, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Bicentennial Department of the Interior, CA
1976
Bicentennial Exhibition, Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA
1974
Male and Female, University of California, Davis
1973
California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland
Ball State University, IN
1966-73
Kraushaar Galleries Group Shows, New York, NY
1972
Curator's Choice, Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA
1970
Peale House Gallery, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, PA
1969
Third Kent State University Invitational, OH
1968
Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY
Temple University Music Festival, Philadelphia, PA
1967
Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, DE
National Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
1966
University of Colorado
National Drawing Exhibition, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
Temple University, Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA
Sculpture and Painting Biannual, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
1965
Beaver College, Glenside, PA
1964
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA
1963
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA
1962
Temple University, Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA
OUTDOOR INSTALLATIONS
Sutro Baths Suite #1, #2, #3, and #4, 1975, San Francisco, CA (no longer extant)
Berkeley Pier Piece, 1976, Berkeley, CA (no longer extant)
Payless Piece, 1976, Rockridge Shopping Centre, Oakland, CA (no longer extant)
Mount Tamalpais Piece, 1976, Marin County, CA (no longer extant)
Vacant Lot Piece, 1976, Berkeley, CA (no longer extant)
Path Piece, Tilden Park, 1977, Berkeley, CA (no longer extant)
Oakwood Valley Piece, 1977, Marin County, CA (no longer extant)
Stone’s Piece, 1977, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, Oakland, CA
Tri-Out, 1979, Grizzly Peak, Berkeley, CA
Sticks and Stains, 1979, Grizzly Peak, Berkeley, CA
Sibley Mound, 1980, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, Oakland, CA
Sibley Perch, 1980, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, Oakland, CA
Megan, 1981, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, Oakland, CA
Dejerassi Piece, 1983, Djerassi Resident Artist Program, Woodside, CA
Tree Trunk Piece, 1986, Greenwood Village, CO
Gaea, 1991-1993, Oliver Ranch Foundation, Geyserville, CA
Untitled, 1992-1993, Oliver Ranch Foundation, Geyserville, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2025
“ART UP: Dennis Leon @ Paul Thiebaud Gallery, Berkeley Times,” May 22.
2014
Zimbardo, Tanya, “Dennis Leon: Site Works in the Bay Area,” January 6, SFMOMA Open Space.
2002
Rodriguez, Juan, “Dennis Leon at 555 City Center,” Artweek, September, vol.33, no.7.
2000
Schumacher, Donna, “Natural Resonances: Dennis Leon,” Sculpture (Washington, DC), January/February, v.19, no.1, pp.8-9.
1995
Baker, Kenneth, “Dennis Leon's Rough Bronzes,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 24.
1994
Leon, Dennis, Keynote Address: Thoughts of an Object Maker, The Glass Art Society Journal.
1993
Baker, Kenneth, Haines Gallery, San Francisco Chronicle, January 9.
1992
Baker, Kenneth, Sculpture Meets Graphics in Oakland Show, San Francisco Chronicle, December 12.
1991
Baker, Kenneth, “Wood Sculpted into Dreamlike Stone,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 23.
Jenkins, Steven, “No News from the Woods,” Artweek, March. (illus.)
1990
Baker, Kenneth, “Wood Sculptures as Faux Geology,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 7. (illus.)
1989
Appleton, Steven, “Between the Pictorial and the Sculptural,” Artweek, October 7. (illus.)
Baker, Kenneth, “Fine View at Landscape Revival Show,” San Francisco Chronicle, September 30, p.C-5. (illus.)
Baker, Kenneth, “Quiet Art that Sounds Off in Talent,” San Chronicle, June 8, E-4. (illus.)
Brunson, Jamie, “Turning Down the Volume,” Artweek, July 15. (illus.)
Solnit, Rebecca, “Landscape as Cultural Solution,” Artweek, September 23.
“The Galleries,” Los Angeles Times, September 22.
1988
Muchnio, Suzanne, “The Galleries” section, Los Angeles Times, May 20, part IV, p.12.
Welzenbach, Michael, “Ed Paschke & Dennis Leon,” Artscene, May, vol.7,no.9, pp.21-22.
1985
Baker, Kenneth, “Freeway Landscapes Paintings at Speed,” San Francisco Chronicle, May 23.
Donohoe, Victoria, “Tyler Exhibit Showcases its Alumni,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 26, On Galleries section.
1984
Miedzinski, Charles, “Art on the Headlands,” Artweek, January 14.
Regan, Kate, At the Galleries, San Francisco Chronicle, May 15, Datebook section.
1981
Albright, Thomas, “Odyssey to a Sculptor's Vision,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, p.36.
1979
Albright, Thomas, “Environmental Art Brought Indoors,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 4, p.34.
1977
Frankenstein, Alfred, “Different Views of Sculpture,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, p.49.
Dunham, Judith L. Artweek. May 1, 1977, p.16.
Linhares, Phil. “Dennis Leon,” Visual Dialogue, 1977.
1973
“Paul Allman's Eye to Art Who?” New Vistas, October 13.
Frankenstein, Alfred, “Bob's Best Face Forward,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 12, p.57.
Hershman, Lynn, “Feel Free to Feel,” Artweek, October 20, vol.4; no.35. (illus.)
1972
Arts International, October. (illus.)
1968
Barnitz, Jacqueline, Mid-Monthly Review of Art Exhibitions in the New York Galleries and Museums, Artsmagazine Supplement, March.
Kramer, Hilton, “Earl Kerkam: A Sensibility Unfulfilled,” The New York Times, January 27.
Lightblau, Charlotte, Quality & Contrast: 3 Modem Masters, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
1967
Philadelphia Sculptor Wins $2,500 National Prize,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 3, 1967.
1966
Canaday, John. “Graphics Are on View at Finch College,” New York Times, February 14, 1965.
1965
Getlein, Frank. “Swedish Folk Art at Smithsonian,” The Sunday Star, February 14, 1965; E-7.
1963
Grafly, Dorothy. “Experimentation Stressed in Sculpture Exhibitions,” The Sunday Bulletin, vol B, November 17, 1963.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
American University Art Museum at the Katzen Art Center (Corcoran Collection), Washington, D.C.
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA
Greenwood Plaza, Greenwood Village, CO
California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Claremont Hills Wilderness Park, Claremont, CA
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Woodside, CA
di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa, CA
Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, CA
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
Oliver Ranch Foundation, Geyserville, CA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
Sibley Volcanic Reserve, Oakland, CA
Storm King Art Centre, New Windsor, NY
The Flood Family Collection, San Francisco, CA
Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Dennis Leon
Dune Cliff, 1985
color pastel on paper
30 1/4 x 44 1/2 in.
Dennis Leon
Little Landscape #58, 1986
pastel on paper
15 x 17 1/2 in. [image]; 15 3/4 x 18 1/8 in. [sheet]
Dennis Leon
San Mateo Coast Looking South, 1986
color pastel and pencil on paper
15 1/4 x 30 in.; 22 1/8 x 37 in. in. (frame)
Dennis Leon
Little Landscape #64, 1986
pastel on paper
16 3/8 x 17 1/4 in. [image]; 17 x 18 in. [sheet]
