Leon Niehues

Leon Niehues was born in Seneca, Kansas in 1951 and currently resides in Huntsville, AR. Sharon and Leon Niehues have been full time studio artists since 1981. They received an Arkansas Arts Council Fellowship Grant in 1992. They've won numerous awards for their work, including First Place in the St. Louis Art Fair of 1994 and the (Arkansas) Governor's Award in 1990. The Chicago Tribune of February 2nd, 1986 discussed their work in an article called "Look What's Happened to the Basket." Their work is represented in the collections of the Hot Springs Art Museum, Arkansas and the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock.
Statement:
Form is my main focus: a reinterpretation of classical and traditional forms. Decorative elements are incorporated into the construction, dictated by the form, and simple in approach. Some forms contain sculptural features, but I don't allow this to subtract from the basket as vessel and container. I use the resources around me: native white oak logs for splint materials and runners from the coralberry bush for trim and detail.

Source: http://nmaa-ryder.si.edu/collections/exhibits/whc/whc-intro.html