Latest News

BW Gallerist
My work was recently featured on the BW Gallerist blog. Author Forrest Old writes, "Isa may in fact be an emerging artist, but her progress in 2010 with multiple shows around the country point ot this being a time of career acceleration for her (collectors note!)." Read the full interview, which includes a discussion on why I enjoy working with Holgas, here.

Prix de la Photographie, Paris (Px3) Awards
My elderly animals project received two Prix de la Photographie, Paris (Px3) Awards: Professional Book/Series: Nature and Professional Photojournalism: Nature/Environmental. Here is my listing on the Px3 web site.  My images will be published in an annual book produced by Px3 that will be available in 2011. In 2009, my Thrills & Chills project received two Px3 awards. Images from that series were published in the recently released Annual Px3 No 3 book that is currently on sale.

Current & Upcoming Shows
June 18-September 4
In Review, Gallery 339, 339 South 21st Street, Philadelphia, PA. View my images in the show; view other images in the show.

July 10-September 4
Found, John Cleary Gallery, 2635 Colquitt, Houston, TX.

July 28-September 10
(Por)trait Revealed, RayKo Photo Center, 428 Third Street, San Francisco, CA. Opening reception: July 28, 6-8 PM.

September 20-January 23
Photo Forum Exhibition,  Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Caroline Wiess Law Building, Houston, TX.

September 30-October 3
The Fall Affordable Art Fair New York City, John Cleary Gallery Booth, 7 West New York, 7 West 34th Street, NYC.

The Photo Review 2010 Competition
My elderly animal project was accepted to the The Photo Review 2010 Competition that was juried by Brian Paul Clamp, the owner/director of ClampArt in New York City. Images from the project will be published in the The Photo Review Competition Issue that will be released in November.

Thrills & Chills Catalog & Special Print Offer
I have produced a signed, limited edition catalog to accompany my exhibit at the Griffin Museum that that ran from April 8 through May 9, 2010. Copies are available for sale here on my web site and also through the Griffin Museum Gift Shop.

To accompany the catalog, I have produced a signed, limited edition archival pigment print of "The Wave" that is also available for purchase here.  The unmatted print has an image size of 4.5 x 4.5 inches and a paper size of 5.5 x 5.5 inches. All prints are signed verso (on the back). Edition size: 100.

I am thrilled by the response this sale has received. Collectors from across the US and in Portugal, Switzerland, and Australia have purchased catalogs and/or prints. In addition, the catalog has been added to the holdings of the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England, the Boston Public Library in Boston, MA, the Southeast Museum of Photography Reference Library in Daytona Beach, FL, the John Cleary Library at the Houston Center for Photography in Houston, TX, and the Indie Photobook Library in Arlington, VA. In his review of the catalog, David Bram, founder and editor of Fraction Magazine, states: "I knew [Isa] would put a lot of love, sweat, and...tears into [her catalog] and now that I have it, I can honestly say that she did. It is lovely."

Recent Press
I am grateful and excited about the flurry of press I received recently for my solo show at the Griffin Museum of Photography. I was featured on NPR's Picture Show blog. In addition, Pulitizer Prize winning art critic Mark Feeney reviewed my work for the April 30th issue of the The Boston Globe. The printed version of the piece ran with two of my images, which you can see here. Feeney also wrote about my work for the Movie Nation blog on Boston.com.

Feeney writes about my work: "The results are very striking: sinister and funny and disorienting all at once. Leshko usually shoots the rides with empty sky in the background, so nothing frames them but infinity and exultation (or is it fear?). A particularly choice example is "Dangling Legs." Depending on how you look at it, the ride has swallowed the other parts of the riders' bodies -- or this could be a still from a production number Fritz Lang had Busby Berkeley stage for Metropolis."

I smiled at Feeney's reference to Fritz Lang and the film, Metropolis. I didn't consciously use Lang's film (or other vintage science fiction imagery) as a source of inspiration. But I strove to achieve a surreal and disorienting feel to the work. It wasn't until I began printing and editing the images that I shot this past summer that I began seeing the connection between my work and these early SF films. Given that I love SF and am rather smitten with the film Metropolis, I have no doubt that imagry from this film genre influenced me on an unconscious level. I love that Feeney saw this inspiration in my work.

Older News...
Spring 2010 
June 4
Review Santa Fe Portfolio Viewing, Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza, 100 Sandoval Street, Santa Fe, NM, 5:30-8 PM

April 8-May 9th
The first solo show of my Thrills & Chills series was held at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA.

March 31
Fotofest Evening with the Artists, Doubletree Hotel Houston Downtown, 400 Dallas Street, Houston, TX, 7-9 PM. Note: date on Fotofest web site is incorrect; this event is indeed scheduled for March 31st. 

March 18-21
AIPAD Photography Show, John Cleary Gallery booth (#118), Park Avenue Armory, New York City, NY. 

February 26-April 17
International Plastic Camera Show, RayKo Photo Center, 428 3rd St., San Francisco, CA. Juror: Ann Jastrab, RayKo Gallery Director.

Center for Fine Art Photography
I was one of 15 photographers accepted into the Portfolio Showcase Volume 4 online exhibition and book. The juror for the volume was Katherine Ware, Curator of Photography, New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM. The Center for Fine Art Photography released the book in May, and copies are available for sale here.  In addition, the Center has published the exhibition on their web site.   To view each artist's work, click on their associated image on the exhibition page. Here is the direct link to my exhibition listing. In addition, I was featured on the Center for Fine Art Photography's blog, Perspectives.

Boston Public Library Print Purchase
I am excited to announce that 5 prints from my Thrills & Chills series have been purchased by the Boston Public Library for their permanent print collection. They are: "Girls on the Buccaneer, Hershey Park, PA", "Coaster Spine", "Flying", "Pirate Ship, Topsfield Fair, MA", and "Zipper Ride".

This sale is my first to a public institution and is a career milestone that I am proud of. Thanks to this purchase my work will have a life that extends far beyond my own. I am very grateful to Aaron Schmidt and BPL Print Department for making this investment in my work.

Juried Portfolio Review Acceptances
I am thrilled to announce that I was accepted into Center's Review Santa Fe, which is the premiere juried portfolio review event for photographers in the US. This year 433 photographers submitted over 8000 images for consideration.  I am extremely honored to have been accepted. The selection committee consisted of David Bram, Founder/Editor of Fraction Magazine, Katherine Ware, Curator of Photography at the New Mexico Museum of Art, and Denise Wolff, Editor of the Books Program at Aperture. Center has published the selection committee's statements on their web site, which you can read here.

I also was accepted into the Project 5 Portfolio Review Event which will took place in Manhattan on April 11. Project 5 is a collaboration between Amador Gallery, ClampArt, Daniel Cooney Fine Art, Foley Gallery, and Sasha Wolf Gallery. I am grateful for this opportunity and enjoyed meeting these esteemed gallerists.

Fraction Magazine
Images from my Thrills & Chills series were featured in the March issue of Fraction Magazine which has the theme, "Achromatic". I am proud of the company my work finds itself in. The issue also features work by: Susan Hayre Thelwell, Francesca Yorke, Noelle Swan Gilbert, and Celene Wu. Thank you to David Bram for producing such a stunning issue that clearly demonstrates that black and white photography is very much alive.

Houston Center for Photography Fellowship
My elderly animal project received an honorable mention in the 2010 Houston Center for Photography Fellowship Competition! The competition was juried by Brian Paul Clamp, the owner/director of ClampArt in New York City.  I am thrilled and grateful to the HCP for this honor. 

Black and White Spider Awards
For the second year in a row, I was nominated for a Black and White Spider Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fine Art (professional category). I am stunned and thrilled by this nod, particularly in light of the Spider Awards' esteemed panel of judges.

Winter 2010 

John Cleary Gallery
I am delighted to announce that my work will be sold through the John Cleary Gallery in my new home town of Houston, TX.  The gallery has several pieces from my Thrills and Chills series for viewing and purchase.

The galley is located at 2635 Colquitt St. in Houston, TX. Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 - 5:00 and by appointment. For information, call 713-524-5070 or e-mail info@johnclearygallery.com.

My work was at the John Cleary Gallery booth for the AIPAD show that was held April 18th-21st at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC. It was the first AIPAD show in which my work appeared and I am proud of this career milestone.

Other Exhibitions and Events
I showed my work during the Fotofest Evening with the Artists that was held on March 31st from 7-9 PM at the Doubletree Hotel Houston Downtown, 400 Dallas Street, Houston, TX, 7-9 PM.

"Waiting"  was on exhibit February 5 through February 28 for Carnival at the Newspace Center for Photography, 1632 Southeast 10th Ave., Portland, Oregon. Juror: Chris Bennett, Newspace Center Executive Director.