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Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987

José Leonilson Brazilian, 1 March 1957-28 May 1993

Untitled, 1987
Acrylic paint, metallic paint, coloured pencil, string and metal on canvas
110 x 212 cm
43 1/4 x 83 1/2 in
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Further images

  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 4 ) José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 5 ) José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 6 ) José Leonilson, Untitled, 1987
Leonilson cultivated a space between the disciplines of painting and textile, producing gentle work that is electrified in its political defiance of gender conventions and reframing of tradition to express...
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Leonilson cultivated a space between the disciplines of painting and textile, producing gentle work that is electrified in its political defiance of gender conventions and reframing of tradition to express queer identity. On large, unstretched canvases, he incorporated images that alluded to the conflict between his homosexuality and Catholic heritage; the transition from a small town to a metropolis like São Paulo; and the tensions of a deeply autobiographical work within the context of the expressionist painting of the so-called 80s Generation.

Untitled, 1987 reflects the artist’s use of encoded symbolism to both convey and protect intimate thoughts. A pair of fish at once evoke Catholic fraternity, Pisces and its mythological associations with Aphrodite and Eros, and the queer motif of the double, in an image both guarded and meaningful.
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Provenance

Direct from artist;
Private collection, São Paulo

Exhibitions

Leonilson: trabalhos recentes [recent works], Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo, 1987
80/90: modernos, pós-modernos etc [80/90: modern, post-modern etc], Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, 2007
Sob o peso dos meus amores [Under the weight of my loves], Itaú Cultural / Capela do Morumbi, São Paulo, 2011; Fundação Iberê Camargo, Porto Alegre, 2012
Eu represento os artistas, revisited, Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo, 2014

Publications

80/90: modernos, pós-modernos etc [80/90: modern, post-modern etc] (exhibition catalogue). São Paulo: Instituto Tomie Ohtake, 2009.
Leonilson: Sob o peso dos meus amores (exhibition catalogue). Porto Alegre: Fundação Iberê Camargo, 2012, illustrated p. 100.
Dias, Ana Lenice & Gabriela Dias Clemente. Leonilson: Catalogue Raisonné Volume II (1981-1989). São Paulo: Projeto Leonilson, 2017, page 303.
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