David LeBatard
David LeBatard (known as LEBO) is a Cuban American artist who is recognized for his murals, paintings, sculptures and wide spectrum of creative mediums. LEBO represents the self proclaimed movement of “Postmodern Cartoon Expressionism,” the application of cartoon imagery combined with richly saturated balances of color and unique linear composition. Ranging from abstract to highly narrative, the aim is to evoke emotion and create layers of meaning.
Biography
Born in New York City (November 19, 1972) to Cuban emigré parents and raised in South Florida, LeBatard’s formal training in the arts began at Florida International University in Miami, Florida (BA degree 1995), and culminated in his residency at the International Museum of Cartoon Art in Boca Raton, Florida, where he lectured on the practical and technical approaches of illustration.
In 1996, the success of LEBO’s first public exhibit of canvases at Johnson & Wales University's North Miami campus confirmed his status as a marketable and versatile artist in South Florida’s multi-cultural landscape.
The artist participated in a series of solo and group exhibitions at alternative art spaces and musical venues, while simultaneously displaying his talent as one of Miami’s beloved and predominant muralists. His work has since been shown in gallery exhibitions in Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Toronto, South Africa, Swaziland, Germany and Italy. His murals and site-specific installations for commercial spaces have energized communities from Miami’s Calle Ocho to Uptown New Orleans to San Francisco’s French Quarter.
LEBO's brother is acclaimed sports journalist Dan LeBatard.
Themes and Influences
As stated, LeBatard refers to his work as “Postmodern Cartoon art Expressionism.” In practice, he is a draftsman, a storyteller and a colorist who uses the iconographic and emblematic power that exist in cartoons to create a graphic language (that has the nature of an abstraction) which further evolves in all applications of his art.
- ‘My aim in creating is to explore the purest, most spiritual elements of the arts and sciences (from astronomy to history, from music to physics) and to interpret them through the language of cartoons, giving them a unique and vibrant voice. After all, cartoons are a primordial form of expression that have always combined images in order to tell stories. We have only to think of rock paintings, hieroglyphics or religious iconography for our proof. In reality, even when we look at Picasso's work after 1905, it all becomes very hard edged yet organic. The very essence of cartooning.ʼ - d. lebatard
LEBO’s aesthetic influences are broad and diverse: editorial cartoonists and film animators, textbook illustrators, telescopic and biological imagery, art movements, renowned muralists and architects.
In the majority of the artist's work, his interest in music is a consistent current that creates a platform for his paintings in terms of subject matter and composition. LeBatard harmonically and rhythmically recreates sequences of sound in time by laying down stylized lines combined with vivid palettes to complement his cartoon metaphors and cast of characters. The genres of musical inspiration include afrobeat, bata-rumba, conjunto, electronic house, jazz (blues, funk, fusion), Latin jazz (bossa nova, salsa), ska and soul.
Collaborations and commissioned work
In 2003, LeBatard created the official artwork of the Latin Grammy Awards (N.A.R.A.S.), the world’s premier Latin music awards ceremony. Also in 2003, LEBO had the opportunity to fuse art with fiberglass as he worked with the innovative Ralph Pucci International to create a series of children’s mannequins for Macy’s in Florida.
The artist transported his nature-inspired, galactically symbiotic designs to form a creative partnership with Trend Group in 2005, a Venice, Italy based, globally recognized mosaic tile company and leader in progressive manufacture and design in the architectural field. The series was titled “Paradise Found: The Color, Shape and Sound.”
From 2004-2008, the artist served as the artistic director of the Langerado Music Festival, held annually in South Florida, which was a venue of multiple stages that featured music of the jam-band genre as well as an assortment of artisans and craftsmen.
In 2009, LEBO Studios and the Arts Fund produced an animated online series targeting parents and their children, ages 4–8, which brings the introduction of “first lessons” to life with the accompaniment of art and music.
The highlights of LEBO’s decade of privately and publicly sponsored mural installations can be viewed in Wynwood, FL (Miami’s arts district), Calle Ocho, the American Airlines Arena (home to the Miami Heat of the NBA), Hart Plaza, Detroit MI, Orleans Parish Juvenile Courthouse, New Orleans, LA and the Hotel des Arts, San Francisco, CA.
Lebatard’s art belongs to the permanent collections of corporations such as Bacardi USA, National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences (Latin Grammys), San Francisco Sentry Investments, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Redbull USA, William Morris Agency and Gibson Guitar Corp., whose patronage of the artist includes residency at their entertainment relations showroom in Miami.
LEBO’s corporate client list has included Adidas, ESPN, Google, Macy’s Inc., Microsoft and Simon & Schuster.
During the last decade, the artist has engaged in design applications in an assortment of media that includes stained glass, carpets and fabric, aircraft exteriors, cd covers and the creation of a hybrid group of characters titled “Animalitos,” which are notably recognized as plush toys.
Painting as performance
LEBO has developed a cult-like following as he demonstrates his cartoon expressionistic style and improvisational process by engaging audiences at collaborative live painting performances at concerts and well known music venues throughout the country. The artist unifies an aural and visual experience by creating continuous compositions on canvas, as he has shared the stage with headlining musical talent as Beastie Boys, Béla Fleck, Burning Spear, Disco Biscuits, Les Claypool, Arturo Sandoval, Thievery Corporation and Wynton Marsalis.
External links
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