Lesley Dill

Lesley Dill was born in 1950. She credits her father, who heard voices and used a private and metaphorical language, for her early exposure to the nuances of language and its various degrees of intelligibility. A book of poetry by Emily Dickinson, a gift from her mother at the age of 40, drastically changed the direction of her art.

Dill's early work focused on attenuated figures sculpted from wood, bronze, or cellulose. While these figures dealt with themes of vulnerability and sensuality, their concept was relatively literal. The incorporation of language, specifically poetry, provided new layers of meaning to her art. These works argue that our sense of identity is largely formed through language and communication. Dill's art was further influenced by her travels in India and her interest in Buddhism.

The artist has been the focus of two widely toured retrospective exhibitions. Her awards include a sculpture fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation.

Sources:
Photo: https://nmwa.org/art/artists/lesley-dill/
Text: Blombô research and curation, with the support of artificial intelligence for content writing and structuring.