This “Word Queen of Poetry for Romania” is made of hundreds of patinaed copper letters wired together to make a space of language in dress form. The scrambled words of poetry are densely layered and represent an inner-thought language which clothes her persona. This gown of metal , this dress of armor , conveys strength as well as protection. The crown anoints her as a Queen,– giving dignity and rising metaphorical importance to this gender. In honor of Romania, the words of Romania’s anthem are in copper letters in a semi-circle at her feet. “Desteapta-te Romane Awaken Romania.”
Lesley Dill
Lesley Dill was born in Bronxville, NY, in 1950 and grew up in Maine. After graduating from Trinity College in 1972, she completed an M.A. at Smith College in 1974, and received an M.F.A. in 1980 from the Maryland Institute of Art. She is an American contemporary artist and works in sculpture, photography and performance, using a variety of media and techniques to explore themes of language, the body, and transformational experience.
Dill has been a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, a New York Foundation for the Arts, Drawing Award in the Printmaking Category and a National Endowment for the Arts Sculpture Fellowship. Her work has been widely exhibited and collected and can be found in the collections of the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; Cleveland Museum of Art, Kemper Museum, Kansas City; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among many others.
Dill currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
www.montalvoarts.org/participants/lesley_dill/
Website
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