Andrew Krasnow's Human Leather Works Confront Materiality and Mortality in Hollywood Retrospective

Andrew Krasnow's retrospective exhibition "Of The Flesh: Skin Works 1990-2005" at ADM Project in Hollywood ran from October 27, 2007 to February 3, 2008. The show featured objects crafted from legally acquired human skin, including the artist's own, transformed into everyday items and symbolic works. Pieces like "Angel" (2000), modeled on an osprey wing from Audubon, and "Hamburger" (2000) with actual human teeth, blended meticulous craftsmanship with unsettling material origins. The gallery space was divided into an inner sanctum with plywood walls and an outer perimeter where works like "Parame Flags: Apollo Series" (1992) and "Lamp Shade Series" (1992) evoked political and religious critiques, including references to the Holocaust. Krasnow incorporated motifs from Judaic, Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim traditions alongside mechanical objects like "Bookmark" (1999), a noisy reading machine. The exhibition included a film depicting crucifixion, a keepsake box of slides documenting performances, and handsome prints, but focused primarily on leather works in neutral cocoa and taupe tones. Located across from Hollywood Forever cemetery, the show presented dozens of carefully constructed objects that avoided sensationalism in favor of spiritual and philosophical engagement. Artcritical published a review by Tobey Crockett on March 1, 2007, noting the work's visceral emotional impact and transformation of human material into challenging ideas.