ARTE - Section Liège-BELGIQUE

Curriculum vitae

NAME : Michel LEONARDI
DATE OF BIRTH, BIRTHPLACE: July 13th , 1951; Liège (Belgium).
ADDRESSES:
Private : 108 b, rue Hors-Château, B - 4000 Liège.
Studio : 23, rue des Mineurs, B - 4000 Liège.
TELEPHONE: 00 32-4-221.16.20 A.

Education and training

1968-1974 : Studied the fine arts at the Institut Supérieur des Beaux-Arts de Saint-Luc in Liège.
1973: Stayed in Italy as a grant holder from the DARCHIS Foundation. B.

Professional activities

Since 1973 : painting.
In 1979: Creation in Liège of a lithographic studio "La Pierre percée" and realisation of many original editions with Belgian and European artists. Those works with limited print run associate some poets and artists like Norge, François Jacquemin, Herman Amann, Jean-Luc Herman.
Early 1990: End of those activities.

In 1992: Gives up lithography for architecture and joins Luc Mabille in order to create the studio of architecture SIZE+ in Liège. Together they realise a number of projects of interior design, both private and public.

From 1974 up to now : He has been teaching at the Institut des Beaux-Arts Saint-Luc in Liège, in the Department of Interior

Design. Exhibitions, publications, main collections : (See the enclosed sheet.) II.

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ARTISTIC APPROACH

Description of the selected work

Title : "Parterre"
Format : Each panel @ 60 x 92 cm. The whole work, which consists of 18 panels, is ± 3 m high and 4 m wide.

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With the pervasive character of a strong physical presence in its spatial dimension, Michel Léonardi's work is the fruit of some thought given to the questions of support, colour and form.
On account of the particular process used in making the support, it remains very present; apparent areas, for instance, allow the artist to emphasise the materialisation of the object.
As a basis he uses 6 colours: red, yellow, blue, orange, black and white, coming in a triple variety of half-tones. That is how he gets 18 shades, each of them corresponding to one of the 18 panels.
The great number of panels with the elements that are assembled bring to mind an aerial view of the ground (plots of land).
The choice of the formats, of the colours, and of the use of the supports, originates in the wish to immerse the spectator into the work without his attention being caught by any details. Spatiality, the impact of forms and colours on the space where one lives or works, are themes of a privileged research work of Mr. Léonardi's. The conversion work of the secretarial offices and of the director's offices at the Institut des Beaux-Arts de Saint-Luc is a good example of that approach of his.

Collective exhibitions

1999 - Les Indiens, Musée d'Art différencié, Liège.
1998 - La beauté du diable, CREAHM, Liège - Itinéraires d'artistes, Liège.
1997 - Talents d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, Générale de Banque, Liège.
Exposition de la dernière chance, CREAHM
1996 - Per non dimenticare, place des Cloîtres, Amay.
Itinéraires d'artistes, Liège.
1993 - François Jacqmin et les Arts plastiques, Chiroux, Liège.
Abstraction to the highest power, Galerie Philippe Staib et Danielle Kurz, New York
Nouvelle pigmentation, Galerie Slotine, Le Havre
1983-1993, dix ans dans le présent, Librairie-Galerie La chasse au Snark, Paris
1991 - International Art and Sculpture, Art Wall + B, Philippe Staib Gallery, New York
Propositions, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Bruxelles.
Le livre dans tous ses états, Instruction chrétienne, Liège.
Art Wall + B, Galerie Danielle Kurz, New York
1990 - Exposition de peinture liégeoise contemporaine, ancienne église Saint-André, Liège. Small-Scale Work, ArtWall+B, New York.

Personal exhibitions

1999 - Germes, Centre culturel de Marchin, Grand-Marchin.
1998 - Hôpital Pelzer-La-Tourelle, Verviers.
1996 - Porte de Trèves, Bastogne.
1995 - Art Wall + B, Galerie Danielle Kurz, New York.
La Maison d'images, Ferrières.
Aquarelle du Nouveau Mexique, Galerie Saint-Luc, Liège.
1993 - Atelier d'Architecture Size + Liège.
147 peintures, Ancien entrepôt de la SNCB, Liège.
10 Jahre Neue Börse, Galerie Neue Börse, Bielfeld.
1992 - Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Bruxelles.
ArtWall + B, Galerie Danielle Kurz, New York.
1990 - ArtWall + B, Galerie Danielle Kurz, New York.