Luke Lehenbauer (Luke Label)
Dancer
Sculpture,
9in x 9in x 5in
Luke Lehenbauer (Luke Label)
Flow
Sculpture,
18in x 20in x 2in
Luke Lehenbauer is a multidisciplinary contemporary artist from Cincinnati, OH. He has been creating variations of his figures since childhood, whether sketched in the corner of a textbook or across countless pages of a sketchpad. However, it wasn’t until later in life that he understood why these figures manifested so naturally. For Luke, they offer a space for mental respite, akin to drawing a maze to pass the time or calm the mind. They also allow him to express his internal feelings through movement and color, especially when writing proves difficult. It wasn’t until he began sharing these figures through murals, prints, and other media that he realized how much others connected with them, often in their own unique ways. The figures transcend gender, race, and age, focusing on everything from simple pleasures to the more complex experiences of life. For over a decade, Luke has also worked in the Motion Design and Animation field, where principles like Silhouette, Line of Action, and Appeal guide the creation of expressive and captivating motion. This influence is evident in his figures, whether they are dancing, skateboarding, or simply posed in a unique way. Occasionally, Luke wonders if the flow of ideas for these figures will cease, but for now, he continues to create them in every way he can.
Luke Lehenbauer (Luke Label)
Hang
Sculpture,
23in x 35in x 8in
At our core, when you pare us down to our silhouettes and the way we move—removing features like clothes, hair, makeup, birthmarks, and so on, which society often tells us define who we are—we find that we share many shapes and forms in common. While I’m not belittling those individual traits, I find it fascinating to explore what we share in movement and pose. Activities like hockey and skateboarding, or climbing and baseball—whatever you choose—fall into similar rhythms, just used in different ways. At the end of the day, the body can move in only so many ways, yet we use those ways so differently.
I like capturing the energy and feel of a pose rather than the literal action itself—the gesture, if you will. In animation, you loosely and quickly draw a gesture of a character to capture an action, which in turn gives a much more emotional and descriptive sense of the moment than if you copied it exactly. Once this is unlocked, you leave the audience free to interpret the piece for themselves, creating a full circle: stripping down a figure to ultimately reveal something deeply personal.