MODERN OPTIC

Modern Optic is a contemporary letterpress studio in Los Angeles established by artist
Leslie Ross-Robertson in 2001. Inspired by modernism, contemporary art and architecture, she is creating work integrating contemporary technology and the traditional art form of letterpress printmaking.
Leslie has produced two lines of stationery, one printed on her Vandercook SP-20 as well as a series
of prints. She has collaborated with artists, architects, and designers to provide custom work.

In 2012, Leslie started Wavelength Press, focusing on collaboration with contemporary artists producing special edition prints. She is currently manager of Laboratory Press at Otis College of Art and Design and teaching Hybrid Letterpress: Digital Design and Photopolymer Techniques as adjunct faculty in the Graphic Design Program at Otis College of Art & Design.

PROFESSIONAL

WAVELENGTH PRESS <wavelengthpress.com>, Los Angeles, 2012 - Present. Artist collaborated press with contemporary artists such as Jonas Wood, Alison Saar, Steve Roden, Aram Saroyan, Brian Sharp, Bart Exposito, Harsh Patel, Drew Heitzler, and Lecia Dole-Recio to produce limited edition prints. 

MODERN OPTIC <modern-optic.com>, Los Angeles, 2001 - Present. Owner-Designer of a contemporary letterpress studio. Design and manufacturing of two lines of greeting cards, fine art prints, sales nationwide, as well as in Australia, Canada, France, United Kingdom, and Japan.

OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN <Otis Lab Press> 2009 - Present. Laboratory Press Manager, Letterpress and Bookbinding Department, Instructor for Advanced Letterpress for Designers for Otis Extension.

SELECTED CUSTOM PROJECTS

Winner of People’s Choice Award for Pluto, New Impressions Exhibition 2022, Hamilton Woodtype & Printing Museum, April 8 - June 30, 2022.

Special edition letterpress print with Alison Saar and LA Louvre, Rise, 2020, Full sales proceeds for each print donated by Alison Saar, Leslie Ross-Robertson, and L.A. Louver to local Los Angeles community organizations Dignity and Power Now (DPN), Summaeverythang Community Center, and Crenshaw Dairy Mart.

Special edition letterpress print with Alison Saar and author Evie Shockley coinciding with the exhibition Topsy Turvy, LA Louvre Gallery, Santa Monica, CA. Mar 28 - May 12, 2018.

Prints in collaboration with Jonas Wood for Wavelength Press: French Open, a four-pass letterpress print, 2012 and Hammer Interior, nineteen-pass letterpress print 2016.

Custom letterpress for Drew Heitzler, three-pass halftone that incorporated a quote and image. Printed as a series on paper and neoprene. Dec. 2016 – Feb. 2017.

From There to Here – Collaborative Letterpress Artist Book 2014-2015.
Included in multiple exhibitions and placement in the following special collections:

University of Southern California, Doheny Library 
San Francisco Public Library Book Arts and Special Collections 
University of California, Santa Barbara 
University of Iowa Main Library Special Collections
University of California Berkeley Environmental Design Library 
University of California Santa Cruz, McHenry Lib Special Collections 
University of Southern California, Arts Library Artist Book Collection 
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Herron Art Library - Artists' Books Collection 
Cleveland Institute of Art, Gund Library Special Collections 
University of San Diego, Giesel Library 
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections 
Mills College Olin Library, Special Collections
Savannah College of Art & Design, Artists Books at the Jen Library  

MOCA – Custom letterpress work for Francesco Vezzoli, Cinema Vezzoli, March 2014.

Kneedler | Fauchère – Graphic Design and custom letterpress work including cards, invitations, and prints. 2011-2014.  

Lace Benefit Art Auction 2011, print for Melissa Thorne in a limited edition artist portfolio featuring new work by Sarah Conaway, Lecia Dole Recio, Sandeep Mukherjee, Gina Osterloh, Eamon Ore-Giron, Heather Rasmussen, Steve Roden, Sean Sullivan, Melissa Thorne, and Liat Yossifor. 

Palm Springs Modernism Show Vintage Trailer Exhibition - Tiny Trailer custom design for Just Fabulous. 2011.

Steelcase – Designed the invitation for the Broadway theatrical production, The Glass House, sponsored by Steelcase. 2010.

Knoll – Designed notecards featuring Knoll Studio furniture for Knoll marketing events. 2007 Cards re-issued in 2013.

Herman Miller – Designed several cards featuring Herman Miller furniture for showrooms and company use. 2004-2005.

Nouvelles Images – Licensed several holiday card designs to Nouvelles Images France and the United States for worldwide sales. 2003, 2004.

RECENT EXHIBITIONS

Steve Roden: floating over the silent world, prints in collaboration with Steve Roden, Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, July 20 - September 7, 2024.

Re)Work It! Women Artists on Women’s Labor, prints in collaboration with Alison Saar, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT, January 21, 2024 – May 19, 2024.

Los Angeles Printmaking Society: The 22nd National Print Exhibition, Mixographia, October 15 – November 12, 2022.

New Impressions Exhibition 2022, Hamilton Woodtype & Printing Museum, April 8 - June 30, 2022. Winner of People’s Choice Award for Pluto.

New Impressions 2022, MICA in Baltimore, Maryland, February 10-March 4, 2023

Ink on Paper: A Letterpress Showcase, Argyros Forum, 2nd Floor,
Chapman University, Orange, CA, July 30th, 2021–May 23rd, 2022.

Ink On Paper: A Letterpress Showcase, Irvine Great Park, April 4 - June 15, 2021.

TSS Summer Show, Bolsky  Gallery, Otis College of Art &  Design, August 2019

Jonas Wood Prints, Gagosian Gallery, Madison Avenue, April 5 - May 25, 2018.

A Year Without Painting, Prints in collaboration with Steve Roden, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, January 29 - March 5, 2016.

Ladies of Letterpress, Asheville BookWorks, Dec. 5 – Feb. 29, 2015.

With Love, Fifth Floor Gallery, November 21, 2015 – December 20, 2015.

New Impressions in American Letterpress, May 16- June 30, 2015, Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum, Two Rivers, WI.

TL;DR, Presented by Michael Ned Holte and ArtSpace New Zealand, Oct 9 - Nov 8, 2014, prints in collaboration with Harsh Patel.

The Book as Art, Expanding the Limits, Presented by Decatur Arts Alliance, The Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur, Decatur July 18- Sept 19, 2014, From There to Here collaborative artist book.

Bookworks 2014, Pacific Center for the Book, San Francisco, June 21- Sept 6, 2014,
From There to Here collaborative artist book.

Binding Desire: Unfolding Artists Books, Presented by Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design Jan 25 - Mar 30, 2014.
From There to Here, collaborative artist book.

Words & Images the Art of Letterpress Printing, Presented by the Coast Letterpress Guild, Vita Arts Center, Ventura. Feb 1- 24, 2013

Fresh Prints of Los Angeles, Fifth Floor Gallery, Los Angeles June 30 - August 26, 2012

BOOK PUBLICATIONS

Mirror, Mirror, the Prints of Alison Saar, Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation Publisher, DAP, 2019.

Jonas Wood Prints, Rizzoli Publisher, Spring 2019. 

Ladies of Letterpress Publisher Ivy Press, UK. April 2015.

Vandercook 100: Celebrating 100 Artisans the 100 years of Printing on the Vandercook Proof Press, Publisher Just Vandy, by Heather Mitchell. 2012.

SELECTED PRESS

Uppercase Magazine, For the Love of Music, a Letterpress Celebration of Black Music Artists, Otis Laboratory Press, #56 Jan-Feb-March 2023.

Irvine Weekly, Handmade Letterpress Prints On Display at Great Park Gallery, Liz Goldner, April 20, 2021.

VoyageLA, Meet Leslie Ross-Robertson of Modern Optic | Wavelength Press in South Los Angeles, September 9, 2020.

Gagosian Quarterly, Jonas Wood Prints, Summer 2018.

Art in Print, Nonstop: Jonas Wood Speaks with Jacob Samuel, by Jonas Wood and Jacob Samuel, from Volume 8, Number 1. May-June 2018.

Uppercase Magazine, Issue 29, From There to Here. April-May-June 2016.

Critic’s Choice: With cardboard, tape, and hands, Steve Roden paints  A Year Without Painting, David Pagel, Los Angeles Times, Feb 19, 2016.

‘Fresh Prints of L.A.’Celebrates Los Angeles Design at Fifth Floor Gallery, Huffington Post Arts & Culture, June 2012.

TEACHING

Hybrid Letterpress: Digital Design and Photopolymer Techniques as adjunct faculty in the Graphic Design Program at Otis College of Art & Design, Jan 2024 - present.

Advanced Letterpress for Designers, Extension at Otis College of Art & Design, 2014 -2019.

Introduction to Letterpress for Extension at Otis College of Art & Design, 2015.

Numerous workshops for BFA, MFA, and Extension students, staff, and faculty for bookbinding, paper cutting, and letterpress. 2009–present, Otis College of Art & Design. 

Modern Optic | Leslie Ross-Robertson is pleased to be included in the Publication:
Ladies of Letterpress A Gallery of Prints with 86 Removable Posters
by Kseniya Thomas and Jessica C. White.