Everything has a lifecycle. Nothing remains indefinitely.

My work explores the fragile relationship between humanity and nature. We forget our own impermanence and imagine ourselves separate from the natural world. Yet nature will endure long after we are gone. What we leave behind becomes part of new cycles of decay, transformation and renewal. My work reflects on human transience and nature’s enduring power.

I live and work in Naarden, the Netherlands. In my work I abundantly use decayed, organic materials such as leaves, grass, twigs, thatch, seeds, dried flowers, and seaweed. I am, in a sense, a modern-day hunter-gatherer, almost daily searching for the most compelling remains. I give these materials a new context and presence. My paintings carry memory: of places, seasons, and moments that have passed, but also of the quiet persistence of the earth beneath our feet. Each painting evolves through a process of applying, layering, scraping, and embedding these found materials giving it texture. The muted, earthy palette of browns, ochres, greys, and faded blues and greens evokes the quiet persistence of the natural world and the passage of time.

I am a sociologist by training, and before becoming a painter I worked in business, travelling extensively around the world. This has shaped my perspective on human behaviour and the challenges we face. I am particularly interested in our difficulty as humans to think and act beyond the immediate. We often favor short-term gratification over choices that really serve our future. This tendency has brought us to a point where the possibility of our extinction can no longer be dismissed. My work also aims to make the viewer reflect on this situation.

My work sits in collections in the Netherlands as well as abroad and is exhibited nationally and internationally.

Do get in contact if there is anything you like.

Kurt Beers of Beers London Gallery on Leo’s work:

“There is no sense of excess or unnecessary complexity in Leo’s work. Every mark, every embedded object, and every compositional decision feels considered. The works possess a calm confidence that encourages prolonged looking rather than immediate spectacle. In a contemporary art world that often rewards visual noise, Leo’s quieter approach feels refreshing and authentic”.