BORN: UKRAINE, 1947
CITIZENSHIP: CANADIAN
EDUCATION:
MASTER OF FINE ART MOSCOW SURIKOV STATE ACADEMY FOR FINE ARTS 1969-1975
BACHELOR OF FINE ART MOSCOW COLLEGE OF FINE ART 1964-1968 - Honours Degree
A realist painter with a strong contemporary presence, Leon has achieved high recognition wherever he has landed.
Before he left Moscow, he completed a Bachelor of Fine Art Honours degree and followed it with an M.A. in Fine Art from the internationally renowned Moscow Surikov Academy for Fine Arts, the premier art school in the country. After completion of an advanced six year degree Leon gained acceptance into the Union of Russian Artists which gave him an opportunity to compete in numerous professional, national and international exhibitions where he was awarded many prizes and diplomas. He is also the author of 10 book covers, numerous posters and logos.
His works of art were exhibited at the most prominent public galleries and museums in Russia, some of them are part of the Art Collection of the Russian State Academy of Art and the Russian Art Fund.
After the Perestroika in 1990 Leon and his family decided to leave Russia to get new experiences in life and to challenge new horizons in his artistic endeavours. This journey started in 1993 with a show of 7 artists at the Museum of Contemporary Israeli Art in Tel Aviv which turned out to be a huge success: ‘’the most important cultural event of the year in Israel’’, according to a CNN coverage. It continues in Canada with participations in numerous exhibitions in public art galleries across the country. Leon was elected into the Ontario Society of Artists - the oldest art organization in Canada; he was elected councilor of the OSA and was awarded the Ledsham Award of Excellence of the OSA at the Mississauga Art Gallery; participated in the Millennium Exhibition of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
In 2000 Leon’s work was selected among 16 paintings from more than 400 paintings of the members of the OSA for the OSA 2000 exhibition at the Lieutenant-Governor’s office, Government of Ontario. In 2007-2008 two of Leon’s paintings were acquired for the Permanent Art Collection of the Government of Ontario.
Leon’s work has found its way into major state and private collections in Canada, USA, UK, Israel and Russia.
