Leonardo Drew, Number 341, 2022. Art Basel: Unlimited, Switzerland. © Leonardo Drew, courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York. Photo: Jon Cancro.
Leonardo Drew is known for his explosive sculptural works. He creates abstract sculptures using materials such as wood, metal, paper, cotton and mirrors. He transforms and erodes the material by hand, building textured installations that appear both constructed and broken. His practice explores the cyclical nature of life and decay and entropy, a scientific concept which states that the universe favours disorder over order.
His exhibition at the South London Gallery, Ubiquity II, is his first solo exhibition in a London institution. Read on to find out more about Leonardo Drew and his work.
He was scouted by Marvel and DC Comics
Leonardo Drew’s journey as an artist started in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he shared a room with five brothers and learned how to create art in the midst of all the chaos. He demonstrated advanced drawing skills at a young age. At the age of 13, he had his first exhibition where he showed a painting of Captain America. His work got the attention of Marvel and DC Comics and he thought his future would be in illustration.
However, when he saw the work of American painter Jackson Pollock, everything changed for him. “I saw Jackson Pollock’s work up against what I was doing. That in itself was an epiphany”, he said. Pollock’s work showed him a new way of expressing himself beyond drawing.
He studied art first at Parsons, and later at Cooper Union. He was taught by influential artists like Jack Whitten and was introduced to a network of Black artists such as Romare Bearden. The Black abstract artists he was introduced to inspired him and allowed him to see artists that look like him succeeding outside the mainstream art world.
Leonardo Drew at age 13. Photograph: Richard Stamats
He doesn’t like to title his works
Drew avoids using traditional titles when naming his artworks and instead uses numbers. He e doesn’t want to tell you what to see but instead allows the viewer to form their own interpretations of his work. In Drew’s own words he says, “If I gave you a title, it would direct you to think of how I came to this conclusion. With a non-title, you are on your own”. This enables him to learn about his work from another perspective.
He first numbered his work in 1988, in a work called Number 8 and has continued since then. His work at the South London Gallery is titled Number 436.
Number 8, 1988. Rope, paper, animal hides, animal carcasses, paint and wood. Photo: Frank Stewart
Travelling to China influenced his use of colour
Leonardo Drew likes to travel as a way to find inspiration. His trips to China changed the way he uses material and colour in his artworks. “Colours were not a part of how I saw things and works before China.”
Drew is known for creating dark work, usually monochromatic, with lots of black. However, this changed when he travelled to Jingdezhen, widely regarded as the historic centre of porcelain production. While there, he immersed himself in local ceramic traditions and worked alongside artists who valued precision and accuracy. Inspired by their craftsmanship, he began to explore his own practice in new ways. He embraced broken forms, experimenting with fire and glaze, and pushed the boundaries of traditional techniques.
Colour started appearing in his artworks in 2015. You can see the inspiration taken from Chinese porcelain in works such as the City in the Grass project (2019), Number 217 (2019), and his more recent, small-scale works.
Drew is fascinated with the tension between chaos and order, a theme that took on new depth during his time in China. He gained a deeper understanding of colour, change and chance.
Drew reuses materials from old work to make new work
Leonardo Drew avoids using found materials. Instead, he prefers to cut, burn, oxidize, and weather raw materials by hand, leaving no history other than his own. He says, “You become the weather”, describing a process that is both physical and philosophical.
When he is in his studio, Drew works on multiple pieces at once, letting them influence each other. He often reuses materials from past pieces on his new work.
“The next iteration is the most important work”, he says, reflecting on a practice that values change, energy and the idea that nothing is ever finished. Drew sees materials as something to listen to, respond to, and eventually become a part of.
He took over Madison Square Park for his first ever public art project in 2019
In 2019, Leonardo Drew was commissioned to create a new work for Madison Square Park. City in the Grass was his first public art project. The vibrant, textured installation expanded across more than 100 feet and visitors were invited to walk across the patterned surface and engage with the work physically.
Drew described the installation as an “undulating torn carpet”, relating to themes of home, comfort, and shelter. Towers rose from the layered surface, echoing the New York skyline surrounding the park. Drew paired his signature material approach with colourful patterns inspired by Persian rugs and East Asian designs to create a space where viewers can walk, sit and find their place.
City in the Grass, 2019. Courtesy Madison Square Park Conservancy. Photo: Hunter Canning
Leonardo Drew: Ubiquity II is free to visit at the South London Gallery and open from 30 May 2025 – 7 Sun Sep 2025.
Want to find out more about his work? Listen to Drew explain his inspiration between the work at the SLG in our audio guide.