NEW YORK.- Brooklyn-based, multi-disciplinary artist Julia Mandle, who led 30 students from the NYC Lab School wearing her signature "chalk shoes" in a performence of large-scale, public street drawing will exhibit the Chalk Shoes at Leo Kesting Gallery May 15th - 21. The Chalk Shoes will be available for purchase to raise funds for The Friends of Highline.

Last April 30 students created a drawing by scuffing the chalk shoes along the paths they will take to the High Line, New York's elevated park built on a former freight rail viaduct, set to open later this year. Mandle's performance, a commission by Friends of the High Line, highlighted the future public access points of the High Line, and drew connections between the neighborhood and the new park.

The exhibition of chalk shoes will run from May 15-21 at Leo Kesting Gallery, 812 Washington Street in the Meatpacking District. Shoes used in the performance, and a video documenting the project, will be on view. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The exhibition will coincide with Meatpacking District Design Week.

"We're excited to involve school kids from the Lab School in Chelsea, where Friends of the High Line has had an education program for the past two years," said Robert Hammond, co-founder of Friends of the High Line. "In their performance, the kids literally lead the way to the High Line, marking their path through the neighborhood with eye-catching color."

"In my work, I seek to create moments that allow audiences to pause and heighten their perception of everyday environments," said Julia Mandle, the commissioned artist. "Just as the park promises to reveal a new perspective of the city. My slow-paced drawing will similarly intervene in the fast urban pace and draw the public's attention to the future entrances to their park."

"Chalk Shoes to the High Line" is part of Friends of the High Line's education program, now in its sixth year. Friends of the High Line is working with the Lab School for Collaborative Studies, using the High Line as a learning tool for multiple subjects including math, science and art.