Monday, April 8
1:30 p.m.
Leaf Sales, 2585 Main St., Chula Vista

Speaking at his family’s scrapyard business Leaf Sales, sculptor Michael Leaf discusses his process and materials.

Michael Leaf is a San Diego artist who creates 2D and 3D metal works. The works range from pictorial pieces with a street art inflection to abstract sculptural pieces, site specific installations and geometric, masculine furniture. Leaf is a former pro skateboarder and came to art-making after he abruptly tired of the rigors of the sport. Over the course of a 12 year career, he broke 25 bones and his front teeth. Art-making came upon him as suddenly as his departure from skating. After beginning to study yoga, he saw a sculpture in a dream and set out to create it.

His youth dominated by athletics, Leaf was not exposed to art, and never took art courses. That he chose metal as his medium is perhaps not surprising. His family, after all, owns Leaf Sales, the metal yard in Chula Vista where his studio is located.

Leaf describes his creative process as a “massive cumulative vibration”- imagery comes to him from life, dreams, and the astral plane. He prefers new materials to found objects or imagery. He often modifies the patina of the works through less-aggressive means, including exposure to the salt air of the South Bay.

RSVP to Irene Abraham at 760.943.1033 and irene.abraham@gmail.com

Sponsored by the Contemporary Arts Committee

Free CAC members and first-time guests | $10 Museum members | $15 nonmembers