Pedro Leon
The Latin American Art Exhibition
September 8 - September 29, 2009
Reception:
Thursday September 10, 2009 6-8 PM
Press Release
Swathed in warm hues and lush textures, Ecuadorian artist Pedro León’s paintings – especially his still lifes of fruits and vegetables – seem lusciously full and ripe for picking. Whether portraying architecture, animals, flowers or food, each painting sizzles with a dominant bold color, seducing the eye with applied textural details that catch unexpected reflections of light. Self-taught and devoted to his craft for over 20 years, León nevertheless benefited from having a great artist and teacher for a grandfather, who brought Impressionism to Ecuador in the 1930s.
Traces of that aesthetic legacy remain visible in León’s stylized paintings, and there’s certainly a Fauvist influence in his wild choices of brilliant and jarring colors. The rich, warm look of his works and their almost surreal surfaces and shading, meanwhile, give them a truly unique style. Among these sweltering tones and swooping lines, the objects often become anthropomorphic, leaning against each other, jostling for position or dancing in place. León’s striking paintings literally bring their often-inanimate subjects to life.
Artist Statement
I’ve been influenced by several artists, techniques and styles, beginning with Renaissance paintings to the “ismos” of the 20th century. For my oil paintings, I follow the words of Ingres, “you paint as you draw.” The soul of an art piece is based on the drawing, but the color is the life of the piece. The simplicity of my work is becoming more obvious since I can express my art with fewer elements and extravagant color. On the other hand, I value the spontaneity and intuition of my abstract impressionism since I feel closer to the inner feeling than the mathematic reasoning.
Invitation to the exhibition
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View the catalog page
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Artists in this exhibition
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