THE AFRO-BRAZILIAN AFFAIR

Brazilian visual artist Leo Coimbra has been creating masterpieces for many years, and her craft completes her. Her collection IN VITRO features a peculiar yet evocative style of documenting her life's experiences by storing pieces of her travels in glass jars. Interesting, right? The collection is on display at the National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi, and we had some time with the artist to have her take on life and art-related agendas, and this is what she had to tell us:

TABA: Tell us a bit about yourself?
Leo: My name is Leo Coimbra. I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother but most of all I live for my art.



TABA: Why art?
Leo: I have a lot to tell, and art is my mode of communication. Art is my means of channeling all sorts of negative emotions that may surround me. It is my primary mode of purging negativity and turning in into something good.



TABA: What inspires you?
Leo: Everything around me inspires me! The little things, right from food, to a good book, a good film, straight to events, places, people...

TABA: Tell us a bit about your background
Leo: I was born in Rio de Janeiro, raised in Brasilia until I was 30 years old. I never ever studied any kind of art academically. I actually studied to be a library assistant. When I got married, I lived in Washington where my husband worked and then we moved to Ecuador later on. I had a mentor, Aurelio Grisanty, who was Dominican and his name was who helped me shape my art until a certain point and then he told me that he would no longer teach me since he deemed me ready to break out into any artistic scene of my choice.

TABA: What is integral to the work of an artist?
Leo: I believe that an artist has to have a message to convey and above all, solitude is key to the life of an artist, as focus is imperative in building art from the ground up.

TABA: What has been a seminal experience for you?
Leo: Back in Brazil, there is an art exhibition I had in Brasilia. It was a highly appreciated exhibition and I can never forget the number of people who attended this exhibition. It was a show that had a lot of life and exuberance to it, that for me, was the breaking point and the reason for the success of the exhibition.

TABA: How has your practice changed over time?
Leo: My art has definitely evolved, in accordance with the situation. I develop new ways of communicating through my art because I started all of my art in-house and so, I come up with my own formulas and methods of creating art. Again, the messages I have to communicate changes with time and the situations I find myself in but I always stick to communicating only goodness through my art

TABA: What jobs have you done other than being an artist?
Leo: As I had told you earlier, I  studied to be a library assistant.

TABA: Why IN-Vitro?
Leo: I visited Portugal nine years ago and watched a documentary of a Portuguese painter Lourdes Castro who similarly grew vegetables in jars. She would then put them inside the cabinets so that the roots can grow faster when the plant photosynthesise. That was a very poetic experience for me.




TABA: Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
Leo: Nothing! As I have said, the solitude in the life of an artist is beyond imperative!

TABA: What do you not like about the artistic scene?
Leo: Commercialization of artistry. I think that it is absurd to have money as the backbone for practicing the craft. I am not saying that money isn't a factor, I am just saying that the creation of art itself should be the core of every artist's ongoings.

TABA: Two artists whom you would love to be compared to?
Leo: Art is influential and some people's works will always have the power to capture and grip with strength and I admire the works of Maria Martins and Vieira da Silva. I think I would like to be compared with these two.

TABA: Should art be funded?
Leo: I think governments should take into account that the development of national art is non-negotiable and steps such as improving art in the education systems should be a priority, and that is how I would say art can be funded.

TABA: Which places inspire you the most?
Leo: Top of the list is the beach, always

TABA: Last question, if you had a superpower, what would it be?
Leo: Wow! (smiles) I would most definitely want the power of invisibility, to observe people and the world unnoticed.

TABA: Thank you so much, Madam Leo, for giving us more than a sneak peek of both your professional and personal spectrum on life
Leo: Welcome. Beijos!

At the opening of Leo's first show on the 1st of December, 2019 in Nairobi.

The IN VITRO exhibition continues to the 31st of January after the success it had all through December. Make sure to go and indulge in some very fine art that will inspire and evoke emotion.

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Brazilian artist Leo Coimbra talks about her exhibition “In Vitro”, that premiers this Sunday, December 1st, 5 PM, at Nairobi National Museum. Don’t miss it! Video by Anjellah Owino, from Unframed. https://youtu.be/n2zly_KRmak

A post shared by Embassy of Brazil in Kenya (@brazilembassykenya) on Nov 29, 2019 at 12:52am PST