Leon Sarantos

Background

About Leon Sarantos

Leon (Leonidas) Sarantos grew up in the Midwest and lives in the HydePark neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. He obtained a Bachelor of Architecture degree in the College of Arts and Architecture at the University of Michigan. As an architectural student, he studied drawing, composition, rendering and water color painting. While working as an architect in California, he continued studying art at local colleges, especially oil painting. He continued to learn as a self-taught artist. In Chicago, he continued his work in architecture and art, and began studies in figure painting at the Art Institute of Chicago. He has also studied at the Hyde Park Art Center, including oil painting, portraits and independent study with Darrell Roberts. While there, he was invited to display his painting, Nude Male Torso, in an invitational student exhibit; and his painting of Botany Pond was also on display in the conference room. He exhibited a work in progress, Gargoyle Overlooking Hull Court, at the University of Chicago Rockefeller Memorial Chapel’s invitational exhibit. This fall his paintings, Bond Chapel and the C-Shop, were displayed at New Wave Cafe, as part of Chicago Artists’ Month. New exhibit Morpho Gallery 5th Annual Emerging Artists Winter Exhibit, from 1/28 to 2/15. Reception: Jan. 28, 6-10PM He is currently working on a series of paintings of the Main Quadrangles on the University of Chicago campus. He has lived in Hyde Park for many years now and his paintings draw on his experiences there, walking through the campus, picnicking at Botany Pond, and having a hot cup of coffee at the C-Shop on a winter's day. As an architect, his paintings are inspired by the beauty of the Gothic Revival architecture in the Main Quadrangle, symbolizing the conservative traditions and stable framework of the university, contrasting with the life and vibrancy of the ever-changing student population, illustrated with their multiple electronic devices, backpacks, and diversity. Specialties: His paintings include Cityscapes of the University of Chicago campus, Architecture, Landscapes, Still Lifes, Figurative, Portraits, Abstracts, and paintings from his travels in Mexico, France and Venice.