Yann Leto

Yann Leto is a French artist based in Rome. His primary medium is painting, although he also works with installation, sculpture, and performance. His dense, meticulous compositions are defined by a critical approach to sociopolitical issues, functioning as collages in which typographic elements coexist with classical and modern references. The interaction between these components is so precise that empty spaces or “unpainted” planes seem to vanish.

Unconstrained, the protagonists of his works belong to an emotional visual sphere that repositions the human figure within a society dominated by unease. Sporting events, television, social-media trends, and especially his own lived experience all inspire the distorted scenes he constructs, which remain uncannily faithful to the archetypes found in reality. Almost like a compulsive collector, Leto stores vast quantities of Google images and press clippings on multiple hard drives — sometimes left untouched for years — creating a visual archive that fuels the construction of his creative universe.

Yann Leto’s work is held in collections such as the San Francisco MoMA; the Benetton Foundation; the Beth De Woody Collection; the Montparnasse Collection; the Sergio Ramos Collection; the Marquez Art Project; the Isco Alarcón Collection; the Unicaja Foundation; and CAC Málaga. He has collaborated with galleries including Luis Adelantado (Valencia, ES), Galería Karen Huber (Mexico City, MX), Cámara Oscura (Madrid, ES), T20 (Murcia, ES), Ada Gallery (Richmond, USA), and Mulherin & Pollard (New York, USA); and has participated in international fairs such as ARCO, ARTBO, Art Amsterdam, ZⓈONAMACO, and Art Shanghai. One of his most widely recognised works is “Congress Topless”, highlighted at the 2014 edition of ARCO Madrid.