Born in 1953, Leo Kundas studied at Ural Academy of Art & Design and was selected as a member of the prestigious Union of Artists of the USSR in 1981. Since then, Leo has lived and worked in New York City for over three decades, his oil paintings, pastels, and printmaking in etching and woodcut media eliciting a moment of pause, leaning in, and admiration of the human spirit. The artist has been represented by Arthur Kalaher Fine Art in Southampton and Mimi Ferzt Gallery in SoHo. Leo’s solo exhibitions at Grosvenor Museum’s Art Gallery in Chester, England, showcased his etchings; and at Synchronicity Space (SoHo), his oil paintings and etchings.

Leo’s etchings and pastels of angels, puppets, and other figures were acquired into the collections of Leonard Riggio (Founder and Former Chairman of Barnes & Noble, Inc.), Norton Dodge, and Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers University, among others. Leo’s work was also featured in the PBS documentary “Lasting Impressions”.

While Leo is best known for his 1,000 square foot wall mural “Architectural Treasures of the Upper East Side”, commissioned for the Barnes & Noble Bookstore on East 86th Street, as well as his woodcut engravings designed for Barnes series of tote bags sold in the millions across the United States of America (and were a trademark of the bookseller); Leo’s most important work is his recent series, “Animation of the Infanta”. The series contains twenty 48 x 40 inch oil paintings of the young Infanta Margarita from Velazquez’s famous 1656 painting, “Las Meninas”. Leo’s series offers a continuation of the artistic dialogue with the Old Masters, particularly Velazquez, and the Venetian School of Painting, including Piazzetta, founder of the Accademia Gallery of Venice. In suit, Leo’s etchings follow the tradition of Old Masters (like Rembrandt), and has worked all his life executing etchings across all subject matters including figurative, landscape, and still life.