Shaun El C. Leonardo

Born 1979 in Queens, New York, USA

My artwork extends from an internal investigation of the childhood role models, popular icons and cultural stereotypes that influenced how I perceive what it means to be a man.

 
By projecting myself as hyper-masculine heroes, I manifest the ongoing tensions between my desires to represent male virility and the vulnerabilities within my identity developed by these images of power.
Whether painting, drawing, sculpture or performance, my work relates the confusion, desperation and, often times, failure we experience when attempting to either locate ourselves within our popular cultures or aspire to their unattainable ideals.



Shaun El C. Leonardo, Self-Portrait Azua (Devil), Sign & metallic enamel on plywood cutout, 48"X68"X3/4, 2008-2009.