Untitled (Sailboats) by Leo Sewell

Leo Sewell was born in Annapolis, MD, in 1945 and later moved to Philadelphia, PA, where he currently resides. Sewell, a sculptor who specializes in assemblage using found objects as his favored medium, received both a BA in Economics and an MA in Art History from the University of Delaware, where he studied Dadaism (an art movement from the early 1900s). His interest in the combination of Dadaism and found objects was fueled by a childhood love of treasure hunting in the trash dump of the naval base near his home in Annapolis.¹

Many of Sewell's creations are 3-dimensional sculptures that are life-sized, colorful, and clearly rooted in Dadaism, but this Untitled piece is similar in design to another piece: The Name of the Place by Tony Berlant.²

Untitled is a 54×204-inch display that uses tin signage that is cut and pieced together to create the sails of 5 sailboats tagging along behind each other. A blue background simulates the water of the lake, and the placement of the boats creates a sense of movement as if there is a bounce in the “waves.” Looking closer, a viewer can see that a Minnesota license plate graces one of the boats' sails, validating the location of Untitled's inspiration. The sailboats are also reminiscent of the fragile boats one may have made as a child, folded from old newspapers to sail in streams, lakes, ponds, or puddles (for those of us who grew up away from bodies of water).

This Untitled piece by Sewell was commissioned in 2007 and was inspired by sailboat races held on Lake Pepin in Lake City, MN. It is located on the 14th floor of the Gonda Building in Rochester, MN.