The work of Brazilian artist José Leonilson is at once intimate and universal in its examination of homosexuality and personal identity.  Born in 1957 in Fortaleza, Leonilson moved with his family to São Paulo in 1961 and began taking art classes at the Fundacão Armando Álvares Penteado (FAAP).  During his time at the FAAP, Leonilson studied under prominent Brazilian artists, including Nelson Leirner and Regina Silveira.

In the early 1980’s, Leonilson traveled to Europe, living in Madrid and later Milan.  In Milan he was exposed to the ideas and practices of the Transavantgarde artists who believed in re-introducing traditional mediums of drawing, painting and sculpture as a response to the onset of conceptual art.  While many of Leonilson’s early works are comprised of drawings and paintings influenced by the Transavantgarde movement, there came a turning point in the artist’s oeuvre.

In 1989, Leonilson began to experiment with embroidery, influenced by untrained Brazilian artist Artur Bispo do Rosario and Shaker crafts he had seen on a trip to the United States.  After Leonilson’s diagnosis with HIV in 1991, and his progressive deterioration, the artist completely abandoned painting and drawing and solely created sewn works.