MARCO

Francisco Leiro is regarded as one best representatives of the current art scene. Born in Cambados, Pontevedra in 1957, he lives and works between New York, Madrid and Galicia.

The son and grandson of skilled cabinetmakers, he was familiar with woodwork from a very early age. In addition to being self-taught, in the mid 1970s he trained at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios in Santiago de Compostela, and went on to further his studies at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, in Madrid. His work as a sculptor combines a use of classic materials such as granite and wood with other synthetic-based ones such as resins, fibreglass, vinyl, and polyester.

His career as an artist began in the 1970s, with his first exhibition at the Sociedad Cultural de Cambados in 1975. In 1983 he was invited to take part in the last exhibition of the Atlántica group, the aim of which was to renew Galician visual arts. In 1985 he represented Spain in the São Paulo Biennial, Brazil, and he travelled to Greece and Mexico to study in situ archaic sculpture. He moved to New York to live in 1987 thanks to a Fullbright Scholarship, and shortly afterwards he began to work with the Marlborough Gallery. Since then, his work has been exhibited regularly at the gallery’s various branches as well as at museums in Spain and worldwide.

Some selected highlights of the numerous solo and group shows the artist has participated in are the following: Leiro (CAC, Málaga, 2017), Os traballos e os días (Abanca, Pontevedra, 2016), Purgatorio (Galería Marlborough, Madrid, 2014), Human Resources (Marlborough Gallery, New York, 2013), Francisco Leiro. Celebrando el Códice Calixtino (Palacete de las Medonza, Pontevedra, 2010), El Jardín de las Delicias. El Romeral de San Marcos (Segovia, 2007), Compaña (Galería Marlborough, Madrid, 2006), Diálogos de Silencio (Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, 2005), Caracteres (Instituto Cervantes, New York, 2005), Leiro (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, 2004) and the touring exhibition organized by SEACEX in 2003 and 2004 (National Gallery of Foreign Art in Sofia -Bulgaria- and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Santiago de Chile). As a sculptor of works for public spaces, since the end of the 80s he has been commissioned to make sculptures for various locations in Galicia (Vigo, Pontevedra, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña), in Cantabria, Madrid, and France.

His artworks are included in museum collections and in private and public collections, such as the Auditorio de Galicia, Santiago de Compostela; CAAM Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos; CGAC Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela; Colección Abanca, A Coruña; Colección Afundación, Vigo; Colección Unión Fenosa, Madrid; Fundación Coca-Cola, Madrid; Fundació la Caixa, Barcelona; Fundación Telefónica, Madrid; MACBA Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Barcelona; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Patio Herreriano, Valladolid; Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Almancil, Portugal; Grounds for Sculpture, New Jersey, United States; Museo Marugame Hirai, Kagawe, Japan; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Holland; Akron Art Museum, Ohio, United States.

He has received a number of prizes and distinctions including: The Gold Medal of Galicia (2016), National Galician Culture Prize (2008), the CEOE Fine Arts Medal (2003), and the Castelao Medal, Xunta de Galicia (2000). He was appointed a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in February 2022.