Muralist | Painter | Calligrapher
Leo Shallat was born, raised, and currently resides in Seattle, WA.
His first experiences in art developed through graffiti and grew into a love for typography, calligraphy, and lettering-based art. In 2018, he received a year-long scholarship to study formal European gothic calligraphy with world-renowned calligrapher Paul Antonio Attong.
As he developed his calligraphic foundations, Leo simultaneously explored an art style free from the rigidity of hand lettering. By deconstructing letter forms into abstract, spontaneous compositions, he began creating paintings that connected his interest in spontaneous mark-making to dance and lyricism.
Working with a foundation of calligraphic techniques and materials, Leo's work with deconstructed letter forms has shifted to one in which the quality of illegibility is essential to its accessibility, stirring intuition instead of literation. His latest series of brush stroke paintings focuses on the meditative state of creation, using art as a vehicle for bringing himself and the viewer into the present moment.
