CONTACT
LeopoldMasterson@gmail.com
ABOUT
Leopold Masterson (AKA Lee) is a visual artist and merchant who lives and works in New York City. He was born in 1985 in Iowa. Masterson works for E. Foxe Harrell, an art and antique jewelry business, with Sam Gassman. Masterson works across disciplines and mediums— in ceramics, painting, public art and curation. Masterson received his undergraduate degrees from the University of Iowa (2007/2008) and his MFA from Rhode Island School of Design (2011). He has participated in several residencies and has artwork in international institutions and collections such as the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris, France), Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Libraries (New York, USA), Poster House (New York, USA), and Grassi Museum of Art (Leipzig, Germany).
CV
Artistic Training
2011 Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) • Providence, RI • Master of Fine Arts
2008 The University of Iowa • Iowa City, IA • Bachelor of Fine Arts • Ceramics
2007 The University of Iowa • Iowa City, IA • Bachelor of Science and Nursing
Public Collections
2022 Cedar Rapids Museum of Art • Cedar Rapids, IA
2021 Musée des Arts Décoratifs • Paris, France
2021 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Libraries • New York, NY
2021 Poster House • New York, NY
2019 Grassi Museum of Art • Leipzig, Germany
2018 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Libraries • New York, NY
2018 Cedar Rapids Museum of Art • Cedar Rapids, IA
2017 Christian Peterson Museum • Iowa State University, Ames, IA
2016 Long House Reserve • Collection of Jack Lenor Larsen • East Hampton, NY
Scholarships • Awards • Residencies
2025 Intonation 2025 • Residency • Deidesheim, Germany
2015 Vermont Studio Center • Residency • Johnson, VT
2012 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) • Fellowship and Residency • Amherst, VA
2012 BRIC Media Arts • Fellowship • Brooklyn, NY
2012 Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide (SPARC) • Brooklyn Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts Grant • Brooklyn, NY
2011 Ox-Bow • Residency and instructor • Saugatuck, MI
2011 RISD Graduate Studies Grant • Affected Productions • Providence, RI
2010 Graduate Fellowship & Teaching Assistantship • RISD Ceramics • Providence, RI
2010 Funded Proposal • Sitings 2010: Museum as Action • RISD Museum of Art • Providence, RI
Selected Exhibitions
2025 Barely Fair • Chicago, IL • SPOTLIGHT
2024 NADA X Project Art Distribution • New York, NY • A Half Glass Full (Solo Exhibition)
2023 Werk Gallery • St. Petersburg, Fl • Queerness
2022 a space gallery • New York, NY • Under The Big Tops (in Collaboration with John Manion curated by Sam Gassman)
2022 Grassi Museum of Art• Leipzig, Germany • Schmuck + Image
2021 Walter Elwood Museum • Amsterdam, NY • P.A.D. Retrospective
2021 a space gallery • New York, NY • Diamonds, Razors and Champagne
2020 Grassi Museum of Art • Leipzig, Germany • Grassimesse
2020 The Parlour • Frenchtown, NJ • Portraits
2019 Sweet Pass Sculpture Park • Dallas, TX • Away Message
2019 PAD Gallery • New York, NY • On The Lamb
2018 EFA Project Space • New York, NY • Nurtureart Benefit
2018 a space gallery • New York, NY • Fucking Terrible Art Exhibition
2017 BRIC Arts • Brooklyn, NY • Truth
2014 The Emerson • Brooklyn, NY • Masks (Collaboration with Marty Allen)
2014 Katrina Van Tassel Gallery • New York, NY • Digital Skin
2013 Violetscafe • Brooklyn, NY • Fishing in the Dark
2013 a space gallery • Brooklyn, NY • 13|23 Exhibition
2013 Greenville Museum of Art • Greenville, NC • Tongue in Cheek
2012 Ateliers D’Art De France • Paris, FR • The International Film Festival on Clay and Glass: Cup (2010)
2011 Samson Projects • Boston, MA • Chain Letter
2011 RISD Museum of Art • Providence, RIVideo Art Screening: The Cave of Time (2011) • Juried by Judith Tannebaum
2011 Rhode Island Convention Center • Providence, RI • RISD MFA Thesis Exhibition 2011
2011 Gelman Gallery • Providence, RI • Digital Plastic
2010 RISD Museum of Art • Providence, RI • Sitings 2010: Museum as Action, Column
Publications
2022 Milosch, Jane (Masterson, Leopold; Smith, Paul J.; Lenor Larsen, Jack) • Arnoldshe Publishers • Chunghi Choo and Her Students | Contemporary Art and New Forms in Metal
2022 Epple, Sabine and Thormann, GRASSI Museum • Arnoldshe Publishers • Schmuck + Image
2020 Henderson, Aneeka Ayanna • UNC Press • Veil & Vow, Marriage Matters in Contemporary African American Culture
2015 Allen, Marty • Cisco Books • Emojis: The Secret Behind the Smile
2012 BRIC Contemporary Art • July 12, 2012 • The Following of Two Fellows
2011 West, Anne • Moth Press • Mapping the Intelligence of Artistic Work
