Leandro Feal

Born in 1986, Leandro Feal was heavily influenced by the 1990s during his formative years. In the United Kingdom, a group of artists known as the YBAs, or Young British Artists, defined the artistic culture of the decade. Linked by their age and nationality, this diverse collective included Damien Hirst, Chris Ofili, Tracey Emin, Marc Quinn, Gavin Turk, Sarah Lucas, and Sam Taylor-Johnson. They gained notoriety for their use of shock tactics, sensationalism, throwaway materials, wild lifestyles, and a defiant yet commercial attitude. Thanks to extensive media coverage, the YBAs dominated British art during the 1990s, and their work was epitomized in the group show ‘Sensation’.

The art world of the 1990s was characterized by various trends, including the derisive sculpture of Maurizio Cattelan, and sensitive conceptual works by artists like Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Conceptual photography gained popularity, particularly in Germany, where artists such as Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, and Wolfgang Tillmans gained recognition. In turn, the Canadian Jeff Wall created works with a cinematic quality inspired by the German artists' work. In painting, Albert Oehlen and Martin Kippenberger became influential artists.

In Japan, manga, a form of comic book art, gained prominence in response to the boom in advertising and consumerism of the 1980s. Takashi Murakami, one of the leading contemporary Japanese artists, coined the term ‘Superflat’ to describe the aesthetic characteristics of manga and the nature of post-war Japanese culture. Inspired by his experiences in New York City in the mid-1990s, Murakami formed an influential group of artists called Kaikai Kiki, which gained international recognition in several countries.