John Leon

John Leon, Sculptor

Since starting his career as a sculptor in 1980 John Leon has created over 500 bronze sculptures, dozens of stone and wood carvings, and many cast stone and ceramic pieces that can be found in private, public, and corporate collections on five continents. 

He has exhibited widely in museums and galleries internationally, including Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, Sculpture in the Park in Colorado, the National Sculpture Society in New York, and the Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center in Costa Rica. He was one of eighteen sculptors chosen for The First Central American International Stone Carving Symposium in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.  He has done commissions for Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, The Procter and Gamble Company, The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, The University of Cincinnati, The Cincinnati Zoo, Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, The University of Dayton, John A. Logan College in Carbondale, Illinois, The Fort Lupton Colorado Fire Department, The American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece, Leidos Corporation in Reston, Virginia and many others. 

He is an exhibiting member of the National Sculpture Society and the Cincinnati Art Club.  He previously taught stone carving at the Cincinnati Art Academy and currently teaches carving and clay work from his studio.  He has been featured in American Artist and Sculptural Pursuit magazines.

He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Greek immigrant parents.  He began sculpting at Walnut Hills High School, and though mostly self-taught as a sculptor, he gained much knowledge from two mentors, Walter Driesback and Jay Bolotin and a little bit from a few classes at the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Art Academy.