Ever heard of anamorphic street art? What does anamorphic mean anyway? Well, according to the dictionary, it means producing or marked by intentional distortion of an image. And what about the street art that is anamorphic?
Well, you only need to visit Leon Keer’s website to know what it’s all about. This outstanding Dutch pop-surrealist artist is the world’s leading artist in anamorphic street art. Born in Utrecht, the Netherlands in 1980, he started out creating works on canvas but also delved in the 3D artwork on the streets in his country and across the globe.
However, it is not the beauty of his creations that endears him to people, but his contemporary themes that involve environmental concerns. It also questions about the livability in this world. His style uses twisted perception that makes flat installations appear three-dimensional.
Leon’s contrasting works depict both the beauty and the degradation around us. He uses this contrast as a metaphor for life. His creativity is borne out of his thoughts and reflect on his feelings. He portrays the visible decay and longing for unspoiled beauty in vivid details.
However, his live-action-painting performances are what sets him apart from the rest. As also his, proper distortion of images in which distance plays an important role in the illusions. He is always experimenting and innovating by adding new technologies, like video mapping and augmented reality. One of his outstanding works is the 3D Lego terracotta army that he had painted at the international Sarasota Chalk Festival in 2011.
Leon’s inspiration is sharing the joy of painting with the public and sharing his anamorphic paintings through social media all over the world. This acts as a great motivator for him. It comes as no surprise that this amazing artist is much sought after and has produced some of the best street art in countries like the US, Mexico, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, and many countries of Europe and Asia.
Why Leon loves this form of art, he states in his own words, “Every street art piece is unique and belongs to the street and its residents, the temporary fact about this artform strengthens its existence.”
How good Leon actually is was adequately displayed in the street art exhibition Magic City in Dresden, Germany. This fantastic exhibition, that attracts street artists from all over the world, displays diverse themes that range from political to critical to lyrical…all set to entertain. In this exhibition, Leon created an anamorphic painting on three walls and the floor that had dolls representing the seven sins – lust, greed, envy, pride, wrath and sloth.
For such a gifted street artist, being conferred with honours, awards and accolades is but natural. He was the winner of Best Artist Benelux (Belgium-Netherlands-Luxembourg) + ABC Islands at the street art show in Rotterdam for which he has been nominated four times! Besides this, he has won many more best street artist awards.
Leon enjoys a following of over 83,000 on Instagram alone and many more on other social media platforms.
Leon Keer
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