Artist

Leopoldo Nóvoa, born in Salcedo, Pontevedra in 1919 and passed away in Paris in 2012, was a painter and sculptor of Galician and Uruguayan descent. He emigrated to Uruguay in 1938, where he connected with Joaquín Torres García and founded the cultural magazine Apex in Montevideo. He later moved to Buenos Aires (1948–1957), forming a lasting friendship with Lucio Fontana, who deeply influenced his work. In 1965, Nóvoa settled in Paris with the support of art critic Michel Tapié, who admired his mural at the Luis Tróccoli Stadium in Montevideo. In Paris, he met Julio Cortázar, who wrote a story inspired by his work, and co-founded the Espacio Latinoamericano with other Latin American artists.

Nóvoa’s work spans drawing, painting, muralism, and pyrography. His abstract language recalls memories of Galicia, with influences from abstract expressionism and art informel.

He held his first solo exhibition in 1964 at Edouard Loeb Gallery in Paris and received major awards such as the Castelao Medal (1993), the City of Pontevedra Prize (1997), and the Galicia Critics’ Prize (2002). His work is held in collections including Abanca and Caixanova.