The Gallery at Hartford Fine Art will host an exhibition debuting a photographic series by artist and architect Leesa Heath with an artist reception including light refreshments on Friday, November 4th from 6pm – 8pm. Heath has captured the beauty and precision of the aero engine and it is breathtaking. This will be the first time this collection has been available to the public. Works will be on view and available through Friday, December 2nd, 2016.

“The Art of Aero Engines” features 16 pieces by Leesa Heath that will be available for purchase including prints both framed and unframed.

Leesa Heath is a licensed architect and a member of the American Institute of Architects. She obtained her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Boston Architectural College where her degree thesis was the redesign of Bradley International Airport. Prior to her studies at the B.A.C., she received a B.A. degree in Art History from Connecticut College. Her passion for photographing structure, whether natural or man-made led her to pursue formalized study at Rhode Island School of Design where she recently received her certificate in digital photography. Her final project was “The Art of Aero Engines” shown in this exhibit.

As a photographic subject, the aero engine is rich with imagery that inhabits both the Newtonian world of aerodynamic shapes and the poetic world of abstract geometries. The beauty seen in aerodynamic form is what inspired Heath in this series of images. It is what the photographer Margaret Bourke-White called the engine’s “unconscious beauty”.

Heath’s uncle taught her reverence for aero engines. As a World War II US Air Force pilot, he flew supplies during the Burma campaign over the Himalayas, known as The Hump. He credited his survival to the dependability of Pratt & Whitney engines. Inspired by the stories of her uncle, it was natural for Leesa to attempt to capture where art and science coalesce in the elegant forms of the aero engine.

* Images featured in the exhibit were photographed with the generous permission of: Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, CT, New England Air Museum, Windsor Locks, CT, Connecticut Aero Tech School, Hartford, CT