INSTALLATIONS, GALLERY ART
PERCEPTIVE LIGHT
Part of Arroyo Arts Collective's WITHIN:WITHOUT art show
at the Audubon Center at Debs Park, Highland Park, CA -- May 13- June 11, 2023
Help, Heal, Hope
installed by LADOT, June 2022
A new art piece on the K-rail at Figueroa and Avenue 57
As part of The Arroyo Arts Collective project "GOOD FENCES" for Northeast LA
Memorial Tree, November 2021
As part of the service commemorating the passing of her mother, Moonza, at the beginning of the Pandemic, Leslie created this art piece for Centenary United Methodist Church, one of the oldest Japanese American Churches in the country. Both a contemplative image of hope in the midst of this tragedy, and a remembrance of those loved ones lost, the Memorial Tree is the centerpiece of an installation that invites viewers to place leaves with their loved one's names along the walls of the sanctuary, to keep their inspiration alive as we try to emerge from these difficult times.
"Ki"
Southwest Museum's "Remembrance" Mayan Tunnel installation, 2018
As a member of the Arroyo Arts Collective, Leslie was one of the invitation only artists to create a unique piece reflecting remembrance of our ancestors in the theme of Dia de Los Muertos. The venue was unique--the celebrated Mayan Tunnel niches underneath the Southwest Museum, which had been closed for several years. Her piece "KI", which means "tree" in Japanese as well as "energy", was a highlight of the more than twenty installations, utilizing shadow cut, fabric and light to create an evocative image of past, present, and future.
"WINGED REFLECTIONS", Descanso Gardens, 2021
Because of the pandemic, instead of developing one of her original yearly winter performances for Descanso's "Night Garden", Leslie was invited to create an installation in the garden itself to be on display all Summer. Following their theme of "butterflies", Leslie created this sun projection experience of acrylic butterflies and woven tapestries to delight visitors, especially the children, as they watch the colorful reflections traverse the path under the Rose Garden trellis following the sun.
"LIGHTS OF FAREWELL, REIMAGINING TORONAGASHI", Avenue 50 Studios, 2016
Not your typical Dia de Los Muertos experience, Leslie created the experience of being part of the Japanese ritual of sending souls back to the realm of the dead via lantern boats on the river for Avenue 50's central gallery space. From the rippling "water light" effect to the participatory "prayer tree", this piece engaged the community in an immersive exhibition.
"THE GLOWMASPHERE"
Santa Monica GLOW Festival, 2013
A 36 foot geodesic dome became a shadow projection rave on the beach for this twenty-four hour festival with over 150,000 people in attendance. Designed and directed by Leslie K. Gray.
"Shadows of the Cross", a Lenten Installation
for Centenary UMC in Little Tokyo, 2015.
A special invitation to create a Lenten meditation experience in the sanctuary for one of the oldest Japanese American churches in Los Angeles, led Leslie to create seven shadow projection pieces reinterpreting the traditional "Stations of the Cross". It was open to the public for four weeks leading up to Holy Week, with the final piece in the separate chapel called "Resurrection" revealed on Easter.