“Our most fundamental form of expression is through our bodies. Instinctively, we use our physicality to communicate and connect with others. By observing, reading, interpreting and responding, we forge a shared human experience.”
A free exhibition of original work by artist-animator Leo Crane.
Leo Crane is a painter and animator from London. Having studied with Maggi Hambling CBE, he has developed a particular love for the painterly qualities of charcoal. He draws from life using fast fluid strokes to capture the relationship between the subject and the space around them. Life in Charcoal, his most recent collection, exemplifies this, conveying self-expression through gesture and movement, with particular reference to the nude.
Since 2018, he has been developing his charcoal practice into animations, including L’amour rebelle, the first opera on the blockchain (Electrifying Opera, 2021), as well as The Foundling (Animate Projects, 2018), both of which have been recognised at festivals around the world. He is currently working on The Masterpiece of Tamagata, a hand-painted feature animation.
As a portrait artist, Leo is featured in the book Portraits for NHS Heroes (Bloomsbury / Google Arts & Culture) and has appeared on national TV in Brazil (Artists to Watch, Canal Curta!) and the UK (Sky Portrait Artist of the Year).
Leo is co-Founder of the London-based studio Figuration and teaches at Sotheby's Institute of Art, V&A Academy, British Library and the Heatherley School of Art. He holds an MA (Distinction) in Animation from Bournemouth University and is the co-author of Contemporary Figures in Watercolour (Batsford Books, 2021).
Sales proceeds from Life in Charcoal go towards supporting the artist and funding public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.
