Artist Bio:
A native to the Pacific Northwest, Randal has traveled throughout the world creating natural abstract forms from exotic hardwoods.
History:
Randal Leek received his M.S. Engineering degree from Washington State University and has worked overseas for 20 years in humanitarian assistance (UNICEF, UNHCR, CARE, Save the Children UK, IRC) in Sudan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, India, Pakistan and most recently in Afghanistan (USAID). He has been the featured artist in the December 2017 issue of Yakima Magazine and his sculptures have been exhibited in the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and in galleries in La Conner, Cannon Beach, Yachats, Edmonds and Yakima, where he now lives.
Sculptures:
His sculptures capture the nature of the tree from which they came, including the natural grain and life-earned blemishes within. Some of the spectacular material used in his pieces (teak, balu’t oak, sycamore, sheesham, padouk, zebra wood, etc.) was found in the deserts and mountains (and local markets) of Sudan, Afghanistan, Gabon and Thailand, expressing their aged, dried and weathered essence.
Honors:
Honors include Edmonds Art Fair Exhibition and Larson Gallery Winter Exhibition, Honorable Mention.
Inspiration:
The inspiration for his work comes from shapes and textured surfaces found in nature, refined in art by precise edges contrasting with the untouched roughness of exposed weathering of forms often found on the shores of Puget Sound and in the forests of the Cascades.
Artist Quote…
I continue to be mystified by the beauty of the natural grain of wood. The three-dimensional forms of my work are often determined by what I find in each rough piece I begin with. For me, sculpture is this appreciation and celebration of nature as represented in my pieces.
I grew up on Puget Sound with family outings to the Cascades and later, mountaineering and skiing. Eventually my humanitarian assistance work took me abroad to Somalia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, India, Pakistan, Sudan and, finally, Afghanistan for three years with the Department of State. Collecting and shaping wood and other natural objects have always been a fascination and only within the last ten years have I really considered seriously that I could produce fine art through my love of nature.
It is this celebration of polished wood grains, its texture and contrasts and character that is the joy of wood sculpture. It is an elicitation of wonder and memorial of the tree lived and died but continues as a kind of joy; even as an expression of love for nature.
Work by Randal is currently being exhibited in the following galleries:
Oak Hollow Custom Frames & Gallery, Yakima WA,
oakhollowframes.com
The Dragonfire Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR,
dragonfiregallery.com/randal-leek
Earthworks Gallery, Yachats, OR,
earthworksgalleries.net
Cole Gallery, Edmonds, WA,
colegallery.net
Earthenworks Gallery, Port Townsend & La Conner, WA
earthenworksgallery.com
Please email me at: randleek@msn.com