Bio
Isa Leshko (b. 1971) is a fine art photographer living in Philadelphia, PA. She has had solo exhibitions at the Corden|Potts Gallery, the Galveston Arts Center, the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Houston Center for Photography, the Silver Eye Center for Photography, and the Richard Levy Gallery. Her prints are in numerous private and public collections including the Boston Public Library, the Harry Ransom Center, Haverford College, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Her images have been published in print and/or online editions of The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, The Guardian, Harper’s Magazine, The New York Times, Photo District News and Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin.
In 2012, Isa received both the Houston Center for Photography Fellowship and the Silver Eye Center for Photography Keystone Award for her Elderly Animals project. She was nominated for the 2011 Santa Fe Prize for Photography and was named a finalist for the 2011 New Orleans Photo Alliance Clarence John Laughlin Award.
Isa grew up in Carteret, NJ and received her BA from Haverford College, where she studied cognitive psychology and neurobiology. She spent the 1990s working for dot.com startups as a project manager and software engineer before she discovered her passion for photography. She has lived in Houston, TX, Salem, MA and Providence, RI.
Isa’s work is represented by the Corden|Potts Gallery in San Francisco, CA and the Richard Levy Gallery in Albuquerque, NM.
Curriculum Vitae
Solo Shows
2012
Elderly Animals, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX.
Elderly Animals, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA.
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
2012
Richard Levy Gallery Booth, PULSE New York, New York, NY.
Snail Mail, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX.
Candela Unbound, Candela Books + Gallery, Richmond, VA. Juror: Gordon Settinius.
2011
Richard Levy Gallery Booth, Art Miami, Miami, FL.
Portfolio I: Gallery Artists, Corden|Potts Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
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.
Public Collections
Boston Public Library
Haverford College Special Collections
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Honors and Awards
2012
Houston Center for Photography Fellowship.
Silver Eye Center for Photography Keystone Award.
2011
Santa Fe Prize for Photography Nominee.
Clarence John Laughlin Award 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.
Selected Publications
“Readings” — Harper’s Magazine, May. 2012, page 25.
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
Considering Animals Seminar, Associated Colleges of the Midwest Seminars in Advanced Interdiscipinary Learning, Washington, DC, July 2012
Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA, May 2012
Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX, May 2012
Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX, July 2011.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA, April 2010.
Selected Press
“Altern ist nichts für Feiglinge” — Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Jan. 15, 2012
“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, Fine Art Photographer and Arts Marketing Consultant.
2007-2009
Panopticon Gallery of Photography, Marketing Director.
2003-2005
Zona Photographic Laboratories, Customer Service Associate.
1993-2003
Worked in the Internet industry as a project manager, software engineer, and management consultant.