Yuji Kawasima

Leonilson emerged as a seminal figure of the Brazilian contemporary art world during the 80s. Leonilson travelled extensively throughout Europe, and his paintings, drawings, and installations were featured in solo and group shows in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, in addition to many exhibitions held in Brazil. In 1991, the artist tested positive for HIV. This diagnosis compelled a decisive shift in his career, as Leonilson began to develop his intimate embroideries, a practice he continued until his death in 1993 at the age of 36. Drawn: 1975-1993 will be the first comprehensive retrospective of Leonilson’s work in Europe and will present over 150 works produced between 1975 and 1993. The comprehensive catalogue will include essays by Lisette Lagnado, Ivo Mesquita, Adriano Pedrosa and Krist Gruijthuijsen, as well as interviews with Leonilson, Jan Fjeld and Edoardo Brandao.

Jos Leonilson (1957-93) came of age as an artist as part of the 1980s generation in Brazil. What he shared with the diverse artistic milieu of that time was a so-called "joy of painting," rediscovered in the years following the end of Brazil's dictatorship. What separated him from his contemporaries was his personal way of working and his distinct aesthetic centered on raw emotional feelings, introspective musings and private affairs.Focusing on Leonilson's production as a mature artist, this volume features nearly 50 paintings, drawings and embroideries made between the mid-1980s until 1993, when the artist died of AIDS. In this short yet prolific period, Leonilson fully developed a unique artistic language in dialogue with other contemporary art practices, Brazilian vernacular traditions and global issues prompted by the AIDS crisis.