Leslie Markle

Leslie Markle is currently the Director of the Department of Public Art & Design at the Arts Council for Long Beach, where he manages the percent-for-art public art program for the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency.  The program implements both temporary and permanent on-site public art civic improvements for the City of Long Beach.

He studied at the Otis College of Art and has an M.A. and M.F.A. from Cal State University, Long Beach.  As an artist, writer and educator, he has taught since 1996 at numerous colleges and universities in Southern California, including:  Chapman University, Fullerton College, Long Beach City College, and his alma mater, Cal State University, Long Beach.  His work has been exhibited in numerous venues in and around Southern California such as:  The Acuna-Hansen Gallery in Chinatown, The Gallery of Functional Art at Bergamot Station, The Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton, The Tree House Gallery in Los Angeles, California Medical Arts in Santa Monica, The Media City Gallery in Burbank, The Long Beach Soundwalk ’07, Kress Lofts in Long Beach, Space 47 in San Luis Obispo, The University Art Museum at Cal State University Long Beach, and the Fullerton College Art Gallery.

Since 1992, he has worked on numerous public art projects and his work is in the public collection of the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency.  He has given public lectures on the subject of public art and aesthetics at Cal Poly Pomona University and Cal State University, Long Beach as well as to organizations such as the Long Beach Museum of Art’s Phoenix Group. His essays and reviews have been published by AM projects, Studiotalk, and Artweek, and he is also currently a contributing reviewer for ArtUS.  He teaches design and art history at Chapman University and Fullerton College.