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William
Leavitt

William Leavitt
Conceptual Artist
Los Angeles, CA
2012 USA Fellow

This award was generously supported by The Rockefeller Foundation.
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William Leavitt, an influential figure in the Los Angeles art scene, is known for a varied practice that includes performance, tableaux, paintings, photographs, and works on paper. Leavitt, who moved to Los Angeles in 1965, looks at the popular culture and modernist architecture of the city to create works that suggest narrattives and what he calls, “the theater of the ordinary.” His works reflect the particular fusion of illusion and reality of Hollywood. Leavitt was honored with a critically acclaimed retrospective exhibition of his work at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, in 2011.

Portrait photo courtesy Janet Jenkins.

  • Artwork by William Leavitt
    Warp Engines, 2009; photo credit Kelly Barrie
Artwork by William Leavitt