Bio
Isa Leshko (b. 1971) is a photographer living in Philadelphia, PA. She has exhibited her work widely throughout the United States, including solo shows at the Corden|Potts Gallery, the Galveston Arts Center, the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Houston Arts Alliance Gallery, and the Richard Levy Gallery. Her work is in numerous private collections and has been purchased by the Boston Public Library, Haverford College, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston for their permanent collections.
Isa’s work has been reviewed and published widely throughout the globe, including coverage in The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, The New York Times, NPR, Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin (SZ-Magazin), The Washington Post, and Zoom Magazine. She has received four Prix de la Photographie, Paris Awards and was selected to participate in the 2010 Review Santa Fe Portfolio Review. She was named a Critical Mass Finalist in 2010 and 2011 and a finalist for the 2011 New Orleans Photo Alliance Clarence John Laughlin Award. She was recently nominated for the Santa Fe Prize for Photography.
Isa founded Exit 12 Press in 2010 and published Thrills & Chills (ISBN: 978-0-615-35421-7), an exhibition catalog to accompany her solo exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Photography. The publication was named one of the best photography books of 2010 by Larissa Leclair, curator and director/founder of the Indie Photobook Library. The catalog has been added to the holdings of many public collections, including the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Boston Public Library and the Southeast Museum of Photography Reference Library.
Isa grew up in Carteret, an industrial town situated off the New Jersey Turnpike. She received her BA from Haverford College, where she studied cognitive psychology and neurobiology. Isa spent 13 years residing in Salem, MA and has also lived in Houston, TX, Portsmouth, NH, and Providence, RI. She spent the 1990s working for dot.com startups as a project manager and software engineer before she discovered her passion for photography.
Isa’s work is represented by the Corden|Potts Gallery in San Francisco, CA, the John Cleary Gallery in Houston, TX and the Richard Levy Gallery in Albuquerque, NM.
Curriculum Vitae
Solo Shows
2012
Elderly Animals, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX.
2011
Thrills & Chills, Corden|Potts Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Elderly Animals, Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX.
Thrills & Chills, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM.
2010
Thrills & Chills, Griffin Gallery, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.
Thrills & Chills, Alliance Gallery, Houston Arts Alliance, Houston, TX.
Selected Group Shows
2010
Photo Forum Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX.
In Review, Gallery 339, Philadelphia, PA.
Found, John Cleary Gallery, Houston, TX.
Carnival, Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, Oregon.
International Plastic Camera Show, RayKo Photo Center, San Francisco, CA.
2009
Prix de la Photographie 2009 Exhibition, Espace Dupon, Paris, France.
Boston Drawing Project: 10 Years On & Still Going Strong, Carroll and Sons Art Gallery, Boston, MA.
New England Photography Biennial, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA.
2007
Spectra ’07, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT.
New England Photography Biennial, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA.
Fidelity Investments Works on Paper Juried Exhibition, Providence Art Club, Providence, RI.
2005
National Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA.
Art Fairs
2011
John Cleary Gallery, Association of International Photography Dealers (AIPAD) Show, New York, NY.
Richard Levy Gallery, Art Miami, Miami, FL.
Richard Levy Gallery, Houston Fine Art Fair, Houston, TX.
John Cleary Gallery, Photo LA, Los Angeles, CA.
2010
John Cleary Gallery, Affordable Art Fair New York Fall Show, New York, NY.
John Cleary Gallery, Association of International Photography Dealers (AIPAD) Show, New York, NY.
Public Collections
Boston Public Library
Haverford College Special Collections
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Honors and Awards
2012
Houston Center for Photography Fellowship.
2011
Santa Fe Prize for Photography Nominee.
Clarence John Laughlin Award Finalist.
Critical Mass Finalist.
2010
Prix de la Photographie, Paris, Second Prize, Photojournalism (Environmental/Nature) – Professional Category.
Prix de la Photographie, Paris, Third Prize, Book (Nature) – Professional Category.
Selected to participate in the Center Review Santa Fe.
Houston Center for Photography Fellowship Honorable Mention.
Critical Mass Finalist.
2009
Prix de la Photographie, Paris, First and Second Prize, Advertising – Non Professional Category.
Selected Publications
Isa Leshko, “”Elderly Animals in pictures”, The Guardian, April 24. 2011.
Hamidah Glasgow (editor), “Isa Leshko”, “Portfolio Showcase Volume 4, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO, May 2010, pages 88-95.
Isa Leshko, Thrills & Chills (Exhibition Catalog), Exit 12 Press, Houston, TX, April 2010 (ISBN: 978-0-615-35421-7).
David Bram (editor), “Isa Leshko’s Thrills & Chills”, Fraction Magazine, Issue 12, March 2010.
Artist Lectures
Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX, July 2011.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA, April 2010.
Selected Press
“What We Can Learn From Old Animals” — The New York Times, Dec. 29, 2011
“Isa Leshko’s Extraordinary Photographs of Elderly Animals” — The Atlantic, Dec. 2, 2011
“To Cope With Mother’s Illness, Photographer Focuses on Aging Animals” — NPR, Nov. 30, 2011
“Ciao, du Sau” — Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin (SZ-Magazin), June 10, 2011
“Beautiful Elderly Animals” — My Modern Metropolis, June 6, 2011
“Elderly Animal Photos” — The Washington Post, May, 9, 2011
“Isa Leshko’s Elderly Animals: there’s life in the old dog yet” — The Observer, April 24. 2011
“Gorgeous Photographs of Elderly Animals” — Flavorwire, April 16. 2011
“Isa Leshko: Elderly Animals” — PDN Photo of the Day, April 8, 2011
“Isa Leshko”, “Zoom Magazine, Issue #229, Winter 2011, pages 104-105
“Best of the Best Emerging Fine Art Photographers of 2010″ — BWGallerist, Dec. 31, 2010
“Best Books of 2010 Extended” — Larissa Leclair, Dec. 29, 2010
“Isa Leshko” — Flak Photo, Oct. 14, 2010
“In Review” — Philadelphia Weekly, Aug., 10, 2010
“Emerging Artist: Isa Leshko” — BWGallerist, July 7, 2010
“Flashes of Brilliance” — The Boston Globe, April 30, 2010
“When Busby Met Fritz” — Boston.com, April 29, 2010
“A Phographer, a Holga, and Roller Coasters” — NPR, April 21, 2010
“A Conversation with Isa Leshko” — Nymphoto, Dec. 31, 2009
Education
1998-2001
Harvard University Extension School, Cambridge, MA
Post-baccalaureate studies in Computer Science
1989-1993
Haverford College, Haverford, PA
B.A. with Departmental Honors in Experimental Psychology and a minor in Gender Studies
Professional Experience
2003-Present
Isa Leshko Photography, Arts Marketing Consultant and Fine Art Photographer.
2007-2009
Panopticon Gallery of Photography, Marketing Director/Publicist.
2003-2005
Zona Photographic Laboratories, Customer Service Associate.
1993-2003
Worked in the Internet industry as a project manager, software engineer, and management consultant.