Leonardo Drew, one of the most recognizable sculptors working today, has joined Hauser & Wirth, which will now represent the artist worldwide. The gallery announced the news on Tuesday and will debut a new work by Drew, Number 451, at Art Basel later this month. Drew’s first solo exhibition with Hauser & Wirth is scheduled to open in New York in fall 2027.
Over the past four decades, Drew has built a career transforming weathered wood, metal, paper, and other materials into sprawling sculptures and installations that explore destruction, renewal, and the passage of time. His work can be found in the collections of institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and Tate.
The move brings one of the most sought-after artists of his generation into the orbit of one of the world’s largest galleries at a moment when Drew’s profile continues to grow. In recent years, his work has been the subject of major museum exhibitions and large-scale public projects, including City in the Grass in New York’s Madison Square Park.
“Leonardo Drew’s work advances the path forged by late titan Jack Whitten and, alongside such contemporary masters as Mark Bradford, is shaping abstraction into a new tool for questioning a world we thought we knew,” Marc Payot, president of Hauser & Wirth, said in a statement. “We look forward to sharing his art with wider audiences and new generations internationally and enjoying continued collaboration with our friends at the galleries—Anthony Meier and Goodman Gallery—that have nurtured his career with such dedication and passion.”
Born in Tallahassee, Florida, and raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Drew first exhibited his work at age 13. After studying at Cooper Union, where he was mentored by artist Jack Whitten, he developed the visual language that would make him a major figure in contemporary American art. He currently lives and works between Brooklyn and San Antonio.
