Leslie Shows uses diverse materials such as aluminum, plexiglass, rust, ink, sand, mylar, and sulfur, in addition to paint and collage, in layered, primarily 2-dimensional works that address landscape, scale, and the illusionistic and representational capacities of materials . She has exhibited at the 2011 Mercosul Biennial, the 2006 California Biennial, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, and is a recipient of the SFMOMA SECA Award, the Artadia Award, and the Tournesol Award from Headlands Center for the Arts.