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Lesley Dill Sculptures

American, b. 1950
Lesley Dill is an American artist working at the intersection of language and fine art. Exploring the power of words to cloak and reveal the psyche, Dill invests new meaning in the human form. Fluid metaphors, appropriated from the poetry and writings of Emily Dickinson, Salvador Espriu, Tom Sleigh, Franz Kafka, and Rainer Maria Rilke, connect the diverse media that Dill employs. Paper, wire, horsehair, photography, foil, bronze, and music comprise elements through which the artist conveys the complexities of communication. Dill challenges the viewer to confront our linguistic relationships as well as perceptions of language itself. Born and raised in Maine, Dill received her Master of Arts from Smith College in 1974, and her Master of Fine Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art in 1980. She soon emerged as a sculptor and multi-media artist. Her interest in language and allusions to strong feminine identity reflect her friendship with the late artist, Nancy Spero (1926 – 2009), who used text and depictions of the female form, often appropriated as classical goddesses, in her scroll paintings. She has received a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship in addition to the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and Anonymous Was A Woman, among others. Dill conceived and directed an opera, Divide Light, based on the poems of Emily Dickinson that premiered in at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, CA in 2008. In April, 2018, the New Camerata Opera Company will perform Divide Light in New York City. Dill’s artworks are in the collections of over fifty museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. The artist lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
(Biography provided by Nohra Haime Gallery)
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Artist: Lesley Dill
SILVER GOWN OF ASCENSION
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
The language featured on this work of art reads "highest moment of impulse... high collateral glory." John Milton
Category

2010s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Metal, Wire

WHITE HINGED POEM DRESS,
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
LESLEY DILL WHITE HINGED POEM DRESS, 1994 patinated bronze 55 x 37 x 30 in. 139.7 x 94 x 76.2 cm. Edition of 4
Category

1990s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

ONLY
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
LESLEY DILL ONLY, 2004 bronze, paint, ink, wire, thread 58 x 19 x 14 in. 147.3 x 48.3 x 35.6 cm.
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Bronze, Wire

COPPER BIRD LITTLE "IN MEE THE FLAME"
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
copper, wire and organza on metal armature "In Mee the Flame" - John Donne
Category

2010s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Metal, Copper, Wire

GOWN OF BLUEPRINT
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
hand-painted metal with oil paint on metal armature text by Tom Sleigh: BLUEPRINT - 2007 I had a blueprint of history in my head — it was a history of the martyrs of love, the fool...
Category

2010s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Metal

WORDS INSIDE
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
The language on this suspended wooden sculpture reads "How ruthless are the gentle" Emily Dickinson
Category

2010s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Copper, Gold Leaf

WORD THROUGH
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
The language featured on this sculpture reads "I am a hesitation before birth, My Life is a hesitation before birth" - Franz Kafka
Category

1990s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Metal

WHITE DRESS
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
This expressive fabric sculpture features language that reads “How ruthless are the gentle— How cruel are the kind— God broke his contract to his Lamb To qualify the Wind—“ -Emily Di...
Category

2010s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Fabric, Thread, Oil Crayon, Acrylic

TALL CHAIR
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
The language surrounding the top of the tall chair reads "Private Hallucinatory World" -Tom Sleigh
Category

2010s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Copper, Wire

SOUNDS OF WAR
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
This cast copper sculpture is explosive with energy and movement, it tells a story of passion and excitement.
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Metal, Copper, Foil, Wire

ONLY
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
This large bronze sculpture is perfect for outdoors, over time can be sandblasted and repainted. The language on the ribbon at his feet reads "Dust is the only secret" - Emily Dickinson
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Bronze, Wire

GREY POEM SUIT
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
The work of art includes language that reads; “The Thrill came slowly like a Boon for Centuries delayed Its fitness growing like the Flood In sumptuous solitude -- The desolation onl...
Category

2010s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Fabric, Thread

BIG HEART GOWN
By Lesley Dill
Located in New York, NY
The language on this extravagant sculpture are two poems that read; "The heart asks pleasure first and then excuse from pain," Emily Dickinson & "Becoming ever more quiet constantly ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Lesley Dill Sculptures

Materials

Metal

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Lesley Dill sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Lesley Dill sculptures available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Lesley Dill in metal, paint, wire and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Lesley Dill sculptures, so small editions measuring 18 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Siri Hollander, Indira Cesarine, and Deborah Ballard. Lesley Dill sculptures prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $30,000 and tops out at $100,000, while the average work can sell for $90,000.

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