Leon
Hushcha
Leon Hushcha was born in 1946 in Villach, Austria, and immigrated
to Saint Paul, Minnesota with his family in 1950. Hushcha attended
the prestigious Minneapolis College of Art, (now Minneapolis College
of Art and Design) where he graduated with a B.F.A. in painting in
1968. While at MCAD he received the Rothschild Award for Excellence.
In 1971 he received an M.F.A. in painting from the University of Minnesota.
Hushcha later taught painting at both institutions. He was co-founder
of an artist’s collective, Fort Mango in the 1970s and his work
was showcased in the early 1980s at the innovative Barry Richard Gallery.
Leon Hushcha’s art is undeniably his own. Recognized for his
keen imagination and sophisticated eye for color and composition, Hushcha
is equally adept at making paintings, prints, and drawings. Regardless
of genre, all of Hushcha’s works express an unmistakable joie
de vivre, making him one of the most unique of Twin Cities’ artists.
Hushcha works primarily in acrylic paint on canvas, on wood and on
paper. He names the classic modernists masters Kandinsky, Klee, Matisse
and Picasso as artistic influences. His stylistic vocabulary is one
of flattened pictorial space, abstracted forms and high-keyed color
and he pays great attention to surface.
Further extending his creative reach in early 2008, Hushcha began
to write a serial essay titled Spittle Off the Lip of The Maestro.
This online offering chronicles the idiosyncratic life of The Maestro,
an engaging narrative that is part personal experience and part pure
imagination.
Since 1984 Hushcha Studio has been located in the historic Thresher
Building located between the Guthrie Theater and the Metrodome in downtown
Minneapolis. Hushcha Studio exhibits new works by Leon twice
yearly in addition to hosting a regular guest artist series. Hushcha
also maintains a studio in rural, Springbrook, Wisconsin, where he
escapes to paint.
His work is found in numerous public and private collections including
the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
and General Mills Corporation.
Selected List
of Exhibitions
Hushcha Studio,
Minneapolis, MN 1983-present
Patricia Rovzar Gallery, Kirkland, WA 2000
Nelson/Rovzar Gallery, Kirkland, WA 1998, 96, 95
Cynthia Woodey Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ 1998, 97, 96
Rochester Fine Art, Rochester, MN 1987
Janus Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1987
Roche-Bobois, Edina, MN 1985
Barry Richard Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 1981-83
Kahn Gallery, Houston, TX 1980
Albrecht Art Museum, Kansas City, MO 1980
University of Missouri Art Museum, 1979
Fort Mango Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 1976-1979
University of Arizona Art Museum, Tucson, AZ 1979
New Orleans Gallery of Fine Art, New Orleans, LA 1975
Selected Commissions
1983 Billboard Mural, gift
to the City of Minneapolis
1984 5 Panel Mural for the Dakota Restaurant, St. Paul, MN
1986 Mural for Twin City Marathon, St. Paul Athletic Club
1992 Ceiling Mural, Pattis Restaurant, Minneapolis MN
1998 Pepsi Cola painting for Weisman Enterprises, Minneapolis, MN
Selected Collections
Marquette Place, Minneapolis,
MN
American National Bank, St. Paul, MN
General Mills, Minneapolis, MN
Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, MN
First Bank Systems, St. Paul, MN
Minneapolis Institues of Art, Minneapolis, MN
Pillsbury Corporation, Minneapolis, MN
University of Minnesota, Morris, MN
The Macro Group, Minneapolis, MN
St. Paul Athletic Club, Minneapolis, MN
Blake Schools, Minneapolis, MN
Bolger Printing, Minneapolis, MN
Federal Reserve Building, Minneapolis, MN
Education
1971 M.F.A. University
of Minnesota
1968 B.F.A. Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Born
1946 Villach, Austria
