Leonel Moura

Profile Picture
Birthyear
1948
Currently based
Lisboa, Portugal
Website
http://www.leonelmoura.com/
About

Leonel Moura is a pioneer in the application of robotics and artificial intelligence in art.
In 2001 he created the first robot arm able to generate unique paintings operate by an ‘ant algorithm’. In 2003 a swarm of ‘Painting Robots’ were able to produce artworks based on simple rules and emergent behavior. Since then, he has produced several artbots, each time more autonomous and sophisticated. RAP (Robotic Action Painter), 2006, created for a permanent exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, is able to generate highly creative and unique art works, to decide when the work is ready and to sign it, which it does with a distinctive signature.
ISU (The Poet Robot), 2006, creates poems and paintings with letters and words.
In 2007 he opened the Robotarium, the first zoo dedicated to robots and artificial life.
Other works include 3D sculptures, interactive installations, augmented reality, generative art, space art and theatre with the play R.U.R. from Karel Capek premiered in São Paulo in 2010 with 3 robots performing aside 3 human actors.
With the project “Bebot”, a swarm of robots able to create unique art works, he participate in the shows “Artistes & Robots”, Expo Astana (2017), Kazakhstan, Grand Palais, Paris (2018), and “Brain”, Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon (2019).
The recently created swarm of robots, coined NEO, performs for the first time at UCCA, Beijing in 2020, in the exhibition “Immaterial/Re-material. A Brief History of Computing Art”.
Since the summer of 2019, he has an installation of 17 virus-like Augmented Reality sculptures in several locations of the city of Lisbon. It was a premonitory enterprise.
In 2009 he was appointed European Ambassador for Creativity and Innovation by the European Commission.
Leonel Moura promotes a new kind of art based on machine creativity.

CV
Art shows, presentations and conferences (selection)
2020
“Immaterial/Re-material: A Brief History of Computing Art”, UCCA, Beijing
Voices, Museum of Natural History, Lisbon
2019
The Surrealist Robot, ISPA, Lisbon
Nonhuman Art, Berkeley Center for New Media, Osher Theater, BAMPFA, Berkeley
Voxel, silkscreen edition with Augmented Reality
Brain, wider than the sky, Gulbenkian, Lisbon
CGD collection, Centro de Artes Oliva, S. João da Madeira
Voxel (Augmented Reality edition), CPS with NextReality, Lisbon
STARTS, MAAT, Lisbon
Comet, Now_Beato, Lisbon
2018
Santander, Masterclasse, Lisbon
FFMS, Jardim Botânico Tropical, Lisbon
CGD collection, Centro de Artes, Ponte de Sor
Artists & Robots, Grand Palais, Paris
2017
Artists & Robots, Expo Astana, Kazakhstan
2016
New Art Fest ’16, MUNHAC
Ram Gallery / Rotterdam
Game-on, New University of Lisbon
Geek Picnic, Moscow / St. Petersburg
Centro Nacional de Cultura, Lisbon
ANA Museum, Lisbon Airport
Nefilum, Braga
Centro de Arte Moderna, Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon
2015
Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon
The National Museum of Contemporary Art , Lisbon
Europa, 3D sculpture for the European Commission, Lisbon
The great artist of tomorrow will not be human, CCB, Lisbon
InDeSem ’15, TU Delft, Delft
Mons 2015, Mons
2014
The Chinese Paintings, LxFactory, Lisbon
The Art Inside, 11 paintings for Nespresso, LxFactory, Lisbon
Ram Foundation, Rotterdam
PRO (Painting Robots Orchestra), LxFactory
Artificial Comet, LxFactory, Lisbon
Beam Me Up!, Centro de Artes, Ponte de Sor
PRO (Painting Robots Orchestra), CCB, Belém
PRO (Painting Robots Orchestra), CCB, Belém
Future Cities, Porto
2013
Beam Me Up!, LxFactory, Lisbon
PRO (Painting Robots Orchestra), CCB, Belém
New Robotarium, Alverca
Akbank Jazz Festival, Istanbul
IN Festival, Lisbon
1813, Asedio, incendio y destrucción de Donostia, ST Museo, San Sebastián
2012
Workshop, Mostra Nacional de Ciência, Lisbon
TEDx Aveiro
design 2.0, lisbon
Technarte, Bilbao
ISCTE, Lisbon
2011
X-Agendas for Architecture, Experimentation in Design, TU Delft
Consciousness Reframed 12, CCB, Lisbon
Paradigm Shift Serralves Collection 60’s 70’s, MUSAC, Castilla y Leon
Launching of The Istanbul Manifesto at the Galata Perform, Istanbul
Fundamentally Human, Pera Museum, Istanbul
LIFE – version of science, Contemporary Art Center “Winzavod”, Moscow
TechFest, Mumbai, India
2010
IADE, lesson, Lisbon
Arte e Social, ICS, Lisbon
Ars Itineris, Museu de l’Art de la Pell ciudad de Vic, España
ISU, new paintings, LxFactory, Lisbon
Portugal Tecnológico, FIL, Lisbon
ActaMedia 8, Architecture Faculty, University of São Paulo
RUR, The birth of the robot, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo
Artificial Emotion 5.0, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo
ONI, Chiado Museum, Lisbon
Utopic Nights, Teatro-Cine, Torres Vedras
Artomaton, MediaRuimte, Brussels
Metasonic III, Goethe Institut, Lisbon
CPLP Art Meeting, Centro de Congressos, Lisbon
Nomadic.0910, Art School, Porto
Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Lisbon
IADE, Lisbon
2009
IED, Madrid
IN-SONORA, Madrid
Universidade Nova, Caparica
Fondación Botí, Cordoba
DA Gallery, Berlin
INSIDE [art and science], Cordoaria, Lisbon
Espace d’Art Contemporain, Saint Martin, Montélimar
Tese, LxFactory, Lisbon
“20, 21”, Robotarium Space, LxFactory, Lisbon
Academia das Artes, Ponta Delgada, Azores
Arte de Capacitar, LxFactory, Lisboa
Institute of Intermedia, Prague
Museu da Água de Coimbra, Coimbra
Museu Municipal de Tavira, Tavira
Galeria NovaOgiva, Obidos
Museu Municipal de Loures, Loures
SPOT, Lisboa
Teatro da Trindade, Lisboa
Encontro Nacional da APECV, Viseu
Launching of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, Prague
2008
ISCTE, Lisbon
SHiFT 08, Lisbon
Emergęncia, Bienal Internacional de Arte e Tecnologia, Itáu Cultural, Săo Paulo, Brasil
Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid
Mechanisms of Creativity, Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisboa
Museu Grăo Vasco, Viseu
Museu da Cidade, Almada
“Evolution Haute Couture: Art and Science in the Post-Biological Age”, XXX Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF), Moscow
“Evolution Haute Couture: Art and Science in the Post-Biological Age”, National Centre for Contemporary Arts, Kaliningrad
Made in New York, 12 drawings by RAP, LEONEL MOURA ARTe Gallery
End of The History of Art, several robots, LEONEL MOURA ARTe Gallery
2007
ISU: Senseless Poems, LEONEL MOURA ARTe Gallery
FastForward, Palazzo delle Arti Napoli
Olhares de Outono, UCP, Porto
Robotarium, Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Lisboa
ArtEscapes, EvoMusArt, Valencia
GA2007, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
How to teach a robot to kill the father, Universidade de Évora, Évora
Art Flow, ISEG, Lisboa
Codebits, Sapo, Lisboa
Cidades Criativas, CAELO, Odivelas
Creative Cities, ANMP, Oeiras
From Artificial Intelligence to Artificial Art, Psicanálise e Mudança, Lisboa
Robot Art Gallery, works by artist BOTME, Lisboa
Robot Art Gallery, works by artist MBOT6, Lisboa
Hall of Human Origins, American Museum of Natural History, New York (permanent collection)
Lycée Grandmont, Collection FRAC Centre, Tours
Museu Arqueológico do Carmo, Lisboa
Robotic Art, Cięncia Viva, Aveiro
2006
Arbots, Gent: The Robot Talent Show, Gent
Dada 2.0, António Prates Gallery, Lisboa
Art and robots, IAC, Azores
Robotic Art, ISCTE, Lisboa
Robotic Art, ESTC, Amadora
Creative Commons, UMIC, Lisboa
Robotic Art, Shift, Lisboa
Robotic Art, Best, Lisboa
2005
Artware3, 2005, ICPNA, Lima, Peru
Mbots, 2005, Ram Galerie, Rotterdam
Robots, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Mbots, CCB, Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisboa
Robotic Art Workshop, Faculty of Architecture, Delft
Mbots, Flash Art Show, Bologne
Mbots, Serralves, Porto
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Rotterdam
Bioart, António Prates Gallery, Lisboa
XIII Biennial, Vila Nova de Cerveira
Théâtre de Privas Gallery, France
Lattuada Studio, Milan
Trayecto Gallery, Victoria
Luis Serpa Gallery, Lisboa
Bioart, Institut Franco-Portugais, Lisboa
Post-Human, Ler Devagar, Lisboa
2004
Artbots, The Mink Building, New York
Artech, Lisboa
Painting Robots, Accademia di Brera, Milan
Symbiotic Art, António Prates Gallery, Lisboa
Painting Robots, GA2004, Milan
Mourabots, IST, Lisboa
Symbiotic Art Manifest, CNC, Lisboa
Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris
Frédéric Giroux Gallery, Paris
Fundación el Monte, Sevilla
Art & complexity, the Mourabots, Universidade de Évora, Évora
2003
Palacio de la Merced, Cordoba
Valencia biennial, Valencia
Atelier Culture, Dunkerque
Artificial Life, Institut Franco-Portugais, Lisboa
Art & ants, Bienal de Cerveira, Vila Nova de Cerveira
Art & ants, Galeria ZDB, Lisboa
2002
Ants, trails and anarchy, Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno, Canarias
New ideas for art, Real Fundación de Toledo, Toledo
AVIDA, Ler Devagar, Lisboa
Artificial Life, INSA (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées), Lyon
Voronoi, Museu de História Natural, Lisboa
Voronoi, Proyecto Gallery, Vitoria
Le Rectangle, Lyon
Fundación del ICO, Madrid
RGB collages, Atelier, Lisboa
Université de Nanterre, Nanterre

Ancient Art

Personal exhibitions (selection)

2002
Melancolia, Hall des Humanités, Insa, Lyon
2001
Ram Galerie, Rotterdam
António Prates Gallery, Lisboa
2000
Meta architecture, Trem and Arco Gallery, Faro
1999
Trans-ports, Institute of Contemporary Art, Villeurbanne
1998
Quadrado Azul Gallery, Porto
1997
Visor Gallery, Valencia
Quadrado Azul Gallery, Porto
1996
Leonel Moura and Andrés Serrano, MEIAC (Museo Extremeńo e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo), Badajoz
1995
Oliva Arauna Gallery, Madrid
Ram Galerie, Rotterdam
Kunstlerhaus, Dortmund
Verney-Carron Gallery, Villeurbanne
Works, retrospective 1985/1995, Nouveau Musée/Institut, Villeurbanne
1994
Árvore Gallery, Porto
Graça Fonseca Gallery, Lisboa
1993
Ram Galerie, Rotterdam
Claude Fain Gallery, Paris
1992
Graça Fonseca Gallery, Lisboa
Oliva Arauna Gallery, Madrid
Diferença Gallery, Lisboa
1991
Graça Fonseca Gallery, Lisboa
Centre Saint-Vincent, Herblay
Diane Brown Gallery, New York
Fluxus Gallery, Porto
1990
Oliva Arauna Gallery, Madrid
Valentim de Carvalho Gallery, Lisboa
Diane Brown Gallery, New York
Acta Gallery, Milan
1989
Graça Fonseca Gallery, Lisboa
Benet Costa Gallery, Barcelona
Bébert Gallery, Rotterdam
Montenegro Gallery, Madrid
1988
Meyers/Bloom Gallery, Los Angeles
Cómicos Gallery, Lisboa

Collective exhibitions (selection)

2000
MEIAC collection, Centro Cultural de Cascais, Cascais
1999
Ram Foundation, Rotterdam
Institut d’Art Contemporain, Villeurbanne
Museu Abade de Baçal, Bragança
1998
Bianca Gallery, Palermo
Sociedade Martins Sarmento, Guimarăes
CCB, Lisboa
1997
Serralves Foundation, Porto
FRAC, Orléans
Sala da las Atarazanas, Valęncia
Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, Pamplona
Sala Amárica, Alava
1996
DV Gallery, San Sebastian
MEIAC, Badajoz
Quadrado Azul Gallery, Porto
Sala Canal de Isabel II, Madrid
Kunsthalle Wien, Viena
Gabrijel Gallery, Sarajevo
Nouveau Musée/Institut d’Art Contemporain, Villeurbanne

Curatorial
2013
“Beam me up“, Emanuel Pimenta, Genco Gulan, Holger Lippmann, Kas Oosterhuis, Ken Goldberg, Ken Rinaldo, Leonel Moura, Miguel Chevalier, ORLAN, Ozan Ertug, Stelarc, Suzanne Anker, Telmo Alcobia, Zaven Paré. 3D printed sculptures
LxFactory, Lisbon and Centro de Artes, Ponte de Sor
2009
“INSIDE [art and science]”, Lisbon
2001
Utopia Biennial, Architopia, Human Genome International Conference, Cascais
1998
Expo’98, Territory Pavilion, Lisbon
1996
Artists/Architects, Belém Cultural Center, Lisbon
1995
Utopia Biennial, Art and Science, Cascais

Books
2019
The Surrealist Robot, Bebot edition
Bebot, Bebot edition
Comet, Bebot edition
2016
Robots and Art, Springer
A invasão dos robôs, Aletheia
2015
Nonhuman Art, LXXL
2014
Symbiotic Art, facsimle reedition, LXXL
2013
Robot Art, LXXL
2012
Hiperdesign, IADE edition
2011
“30 gramos”, Leonel Moura, Alvarellos Editor, (in spanish)
2010
“30 gramos”, Leonel Moura, Alvarellos Editor, (in galician)
Livro do Desassossego Tecnológico, Edition LxXL
2009
“30 gramas”
Poesia Robótica (Robot Poetry), Leonel Moura with ISU, Museu da Água de Coimbra
RAP, Leonel Moura, Edition Museu Municipal de Tavira
Robot Art, Leonel Moura, Edition Obidos Patrimonium
2007
Robotarium, Edition Fenda
2006
Potlatch (editor), Edition Fenda
2005
Bioart, a new kind of art, Edition: Galeria António Prates
2004
Man+robots: symbiotic art, Edition: Institut d’Art Contemporain
2003
Arquitectura Radical (et al), Edition Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno
Fogo em Lisboa, Edition Campo das Letras
Formigas, vagabundos e anarquia, Edition AAAL,
2002
Architopia, art architecture science, Edition CM Cascais
10 milhőes de razőes (et al), Edition Editorial Notícias
2001
Camera Lucida (et al), Edition Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff
Novo Ciclo (et al), Edition Editorial Notícias
2000
Les hommes poubelles, Edition Grasset/Moulat
Novas Cartografias (editor), Edition Fenda
1999
Terceira via (et al), Edition Fenda
Los hombres basura,Edition Iralka
1998
Anarquista com motorista, Edition Fenda
1997
Anos 70, Edition Fenda, Lisbon
Globalizacion y fragmentacion (et al), Edition Arteleku
1996
Os homens-lixo, Edition Fenda
1995
Impossibilité/Impossibilidade, Edition Nouveau Musée/Institut


Works
Bibliography
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