Jean Paul Leon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean Paul Leon (born 1955) is a French/Spanish artist, sculptor, writer, known mainly for his work Unison which assembles four art collections on the three Mediterranean Religions and Buddhism - Daoism, calling for understanding and dialogue among all people. His book Heritage, prefaced by French Minister Jack Lang and recommended by The Louvre Museum curator Lizzie Boubli is the first of the trilogy. This was followed by the publication of his book of short stories and paintings of the Menorah, Hebras hebraicas[1], launched at Museo Centro Sefarad-Israel in Madrid and featured on Radio Sefarad Interview Hebras hebraicas Jean Paul Leon.[2]
In 2020, Universo de Letras, Editorial Planeta, published Mujeres en la Cruz.[3] Under the same title, his collection of paintings Women on the Cross, exhibited at Fundación Antonio Berni, inspired the workshops and the participatory digital museum Art4WomensRights.com supported by ICOM, the International Council of Museums, Nigeria, to raise consciousness through Art on human trafficking, sex violations and other issues affecting women today in the country and worldwide.
His latest book, La palabra desnuda,[4] (The Naked Word), was presented at the Ateneo de Madrid November 30, 2023 [5] along with the Book of Aphorisms, Año bisiesto[6]
Jean Paul Leon Yodh's 4m long public mural, Da Vinci's Dream or the Nightmare of the 4 Judges, was inaugurated at the Central Hallway of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona on February 8, 2024, two years exactly from the date of the kidney transplant donated by his wife. The event was covered live on TV3 Interview Mural Jean Paul Leon Yodh.[7]
Jean Paul Leon was raised in France and Spain and educated in England in the Classics, Greek, and Latin. At age 7 and a half, Leon met Pablo Ruíz Picasso, a comrade of his grandfather. Meeting the man and visiting his studio had a major and lasting impact on his life.[8] At age 11, Leon won a nationwide writing contest sponsored by Coca-Cola.
As a Writer
By 16, Jean Paul Leon had published his first article for the newspaper El Norte de Castilla,[9] under the auspices of laureate Miguel Delibes, where years later, he became a columnist. At 19, he began writing as a freelancer for the magazine Triunfo, publishing in-depth interviews with English folk-singer-songwriters John Martyn, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, and others.[10] His short story, The Last Judgement, was published by Grafein, Barcelona in April 2015 for the benefit of Doctors Without Borders.[11] At 18, he began a series of solo art exhibits curated by Chantal Hinaut through the Alliance Française.
Having spent 12 years as a writer in Hollywood, he has now picked up where he left off and started writing and publishing again in Spanish with four titles in the last four years.
In her introduction to La palabra desnuda at Ateneo de Madrid, Professor and literary critic, Concha D'Olhaberriague, describes Jean Paul Leon Yodh as "an avant garde writer, with the grace to combine verbal registers with efficiency, self-confidence, impudence and a cynical touch. Torrential enumerations sometimes render a frenetic rhythm to the fluid, rhythmic and fun style that sprouts spontaneously, evidencing his Jewish humor replete with satire, wit, a eschatological component and black humor."
