Lepore, Anthony

Since 2012, LA-based artist Anthony Lepore has maintained a studio in rows 13-15 of his father’s bikini factory on the outskirts of Lincoln Heights, the city’s oldest suburb. Built in 1971 by his grandfather, the SoCal swimwear business and its employees were a mainstay of Lepore’s childhood. Returning to that space years later, he was intrigued by the vibrant patterns and textures of the bikini fabrics with their equally colorful names, “Cotton Candy,” “Snakebite,” “Rockstar,” “Sport,” or “Circus.” Lepore works with leftover materials to fabricate unreal scenes that pair the fantasy of LA beach bodies with mundane factory labor, as in Mirage, an image of an ordinary mop amid puddles reflecting vivid swimwear spandex. In lieu of documentary photographs, Lepore’s practice is conceptually driven. Abstractions of color and line convey a sense of deep connection to the space in which he works, interweaving personal history with industry. Lepore’s photographs are in numerous collections, including the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art, Hammer Museum, Guggenheim Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, among others.