rainmen Sculpture

Leonel dos Santos was born in Mozambique on 26 April 1964. His childhood was spent in his paternal house near Cidade da Beira, in Tica, where he was surrounded by the exuberance of Africa´s nature. From an early age, he demonstrated skills in arts. However, the political and historical situation of the 1970s, led him to Portugal, where his life suffered radical changes that deeply marked him. Having experienced the strictness of military life, Leonel dos Santos returned to art by taking various courses in Portugal, as well as abroad, but ended up working in a variety of different professions. In 2003, Leonel dos Santos embarked on a new adventure: Life is his art and art is his life! My childhood was profoundly affected by historical events, but also by unforgettable experiences. My creative process as an artist is always intense, even painful, as a result of a lifetime of experience. Anxiety is always present; waiting is suffering. There is no ‘time for inspiration’. I am passionate about the materials I use, the colours, smells and textures that constantly take me back to the places I have been. Ideas and solutions flood out like an unstoppable wave, as basic as the need to breathe. For me, a block of marble or a blank canvas may contain an entire world, full of motion and feelings that need to be released. These are the feelings that I reveal in each work, in each sculpture or painting. Each work involves me in a love-hate relationship; works flow from my hands as if I did not exist, or as if I had never touched them.