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Ed Letven Biography | Portfolio
He combined the discipines of illustration, photography and calligraphy as a designer and soon became a creative consultant for Philly ad agencies. In 1968 he founded his own advertising agency which focused on corporate identity work as well as TV. It grew to become a 60 person shop winning many awards for its work with regional and national accounts such as Coors Beer, Hitachi, Sunoco and others. In 1997, he left his agency to his younger partners to pursue his lifetime passion for fine art. His new life began with a one person retrospective at UARTS in 2001. His work is now owned by Coors Brewery, Sun Oil Company, Temple University, Dentsply International, Hitachi, Graphic Packaging and over 50 private collections. Ed's work has been seen in solo and group shows in 16 art galleries in Pennsylvania, Florida and the Brandywine region. Letven almost always begins his work outdoors using the studio to finish details. He describes his work as “romantic landscapes” but is conscious that the countryside as we know it in art is vanishing. He is the author of an original illustrated childrens book about Dolphins: “Little Blue Jack”. It was published in 1968 and is available on Amazon.com. Artist Statement: "I identify my present fine art life and my past “creative life” as a simple expression of a deep confidence in diversity of approach. I enjoy working in many mediums and forms of visual communication. As an artist I am clearly an “Eclecticist.” A sense of continuity can be seen in the brushwork and palette, but in terms of mediums, papers, subject and composition, I will always search for the unexpected.” -Ed Letven Excerpted from commentary by Dr. Burton Wasserman (Professor of Art, Rowan University, July 2003): “Letven’s gift for creative interpretation often comes alive in rural rather than urban venues. For him, the sight of a barn in a pastoral setting will trigger patterns of response that potentially come together in a soundly ordered image, sparkling with vitality in shape and texture as well as many variations of hue, tint and shade. Typically, the whole composition will be joined together in a state of unified wholeness and a solidly conceived feeling for balance”. |
