Pavel Leonov is one of the leading representatives of Russian naive art. He usually represents a combination of big and small forms and a separation of the plane of the canvas on squeares where different scenes are taking place. In 1984 the name of Pavel Leonov enteres the World Ecyclopedia of Art. At the end of 1930s he moved to the city for earnings. He changed a big variety of occupations during his life. He worked at the factories, chopped woods, repaired ships, built roads, he was a carpenter, a plasterer, an oven-bird, a tinsmith, a decorator. He lived in Orel, in the Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan.
He was arrested several times in 1940-1950s. He started painting in 1950s while he was in Kamchatka. In 1960s he took part in the work of Correspondence Public University of Art, where he was taught by Roginskyi. In 1980s he left painting as he was afraid of the arrest of unearned income. From 1990s, when the collectors started to buy his works, the most productive period of his creativity began. He always lived in the upside-down world with its own rules, sky and ground.
In 1997 he won the Grand Prix on the International exhibition of naive art “INSITA” in Bratislava. In 2000 he won the Grand Prix on the 6th International competition of naive art “Gallerie pro art Kasper” in Switzerland.
Solo exhibitions
1993 Golden dream. Contemporary Art Center on Yakimanka, Moscow
2005 Pavel Leonov. Moscow museum of modern art
2010 Pavel Leonov (K. Bogemskaya and A. Turchin’s collection). Roza Azora Gallery, Moscow
2011 Pavel Leonov’s painting from K. Bogemskaya’s collection. Pushkin Museum Department of Private Collections, Moscow
2012 Drawing and painting. Roza Azora Gallery, Moscow
Public collections
Charlotte Zander Museum, Germany
Contemporary Art Gallery ARTSTORY, Moscow
Modern Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
Museum of Naive Art, Moscow
Museum of Organic Culture, Kolomna
Tsaritsyno Museum, Moscow
Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve