NAME: Leandro Comrie
BIRTH PLACE: Brooklyn, New York
BIRTH DATE: 7.14.73
BIOGRAPHY
Son of a Venezuelan mother and Panamanian father, Leandro Comrie-PepiÂn was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 14th, 1973. He grew up in Caracas, Venezuela where he developed and nurtured his passion for art. In 1992 he returned to New York and began studies at School of Visual Arts where he focused on drawing, and painting, but also explored other currents such as sculpture and etching, among others.
His work is in constant evolution influenced mainly by his travels and experiences with different cultures. These journeys have led him to live in cities such as San Juan and Ponce in Puerto Rico, Cologne in Germany, Caracas and New York, cities which have always been closely knitted to his life history.
Through these experiences he has developed a kin sense for adaptation. Social mobility and the marginalization of individuals have become an important element in his approach to his artistic work. Drawing from nostalgia, alienation, self-alienation, adaptation, assimilation, language barrier, cultural differences and cliches, human interaction and emotions, his work has become focused on human nature.
As a multicultural individual, his approach to both life and art are strongly bound to everyday life and human interaction. He has lived in four different countries, and in the last years divided his time between Germany and the United States. The most important side of his works is human interaction, the differences between cultures and how we, as individuals perceive our own lives in different societies. The social aspect of life allows him to delve into the human social psyche and opens an avenue of dialogue between the viewer and the work itself.
At times his work expresses the beauty of society and cultures, drawing from folk tales, music, literature and landscape. Other times, his work tackles the harshness found in everyday life, routines, commutes, and the vicious circles in which sometimes humans seem to dwell. This dichotomy is a key element to understanding his approach to art and the effects his work has upon the viewer.
