January 30, 2014 – The American Numismatic Society has selected Pawel Leski to receive the Society’s 2014 J. Sanford Saltus Award for distinguished achievement in the art of the medal. Established in 1913, the Saltus Award remains one of the most prestigious and coveted awards in the field of medallic art, presented to artists who have produced an exemplary and influential body of work.
Limited initially to artists based in the United States, since 1985 the award has been open to international competition. Born in 1954, Mr. Leski first studied architecture at Cracow Polytechnic, before leaving his native Poland for a year’s study in Vienna where he learned the techniques of medal making. When he returned to Poland in 1976, he concentrated his efforts on sculpture under Prof. G. Zelmy at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts.
In the ensuing decades, Mr. Leski has produced a substantial body of work that includes scores of medals and plaques, along with sculpture and received numerous awards for his art. While much of his work borders on abstraction, the figure, both human and animal, nonetheless plays a key and evocative role. Through the adept use of both the shape and surface of the medal, Mr. Leski is able to elicit a deep emotional response to the figures and narratives he depicts.
The award ceremony will take place on February 20, 2014, at the Society’s headquarters, followed by a lecture and reception. On view will be an exhibit of Mr. Leski’s medallic art.
For more information contact Joanne Isaac.
Or visit the website of the American Numismatic Society.