William Leavitt

The Multiplicity

October 22 - December 19, 2015

galerie frank elbaz, Paris

View of the exhibition Multiplicity, galerie frank elbaz, Paris, 2015

At galerie frank elbaz opening 22 October, William Leavitt presents 14 new black ink drawings on paper of objects, scenes, and structures in combination. Each work includes a group of people in conversation, and the things seen are meant to be what is in their thoughts or words. Leavitt states "I've been in the past interested in the impossibility of representing what occurs in 'the mind's eye. Thus the objects here reflect tangentially what the figures in the drawings might be picturing. I also admit to being fascinated by the plethora of consumer objects, buildings and travel destinations in our world." Leavitt's drawing style is loose and illustrative, and meant to call attention to the physical action of the drawing process.

The show's title, The Multiplicity, is partly in response to software engineer Ray Kurzweil's thesis that computers at some point in the future will surpass humans in their intelligence. This occurrence he calls the 'Singularity.' “Though a computer can store data, generate responses to stimuli, and perhaps even create, it cannot emotionally appreciate what it does.”

William Leavitt lives and works in Los Angeles. His work includes drawing, painting and installations. He recently had solo exhibitions at Institute of the History and Theory of Architecture, ETH, Zurich (2014); Greene Naftali Gallery, New York (2013); Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles (2012); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2011); Jancar Jones Gallery, San Francisco (2010); and LAXART, Los Angeles (2009).

His work is in the collections of
 Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam; Hammer Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles;
 Los Angeles County Museum of Art; 
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles;
 The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA; San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA; and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.