Eduardo Kobra facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eduardo Kobra
Born	Carlos Eduardo Fernandes Léo (1975-08-27) August 27, 1975 (age 50) São Paulo, Brazil
Occupation	Muralist
Years active	1987–present
Known for	Urban Art and Activism

Carlos Eduardo Fernandes Léo, born on August 27, 1975, in São Paulo, Brazil, is a famous street artist. He is known as Eduardo Kobra, or simply Kobra. He started his art career officially in 1987 when he was 11 years old. Since then, he has painted over 3,000 murals across five different continents. Some of these murals are special requests, while others are his own ideas. Kobra now works with a team of artists. Together, they paint about two to four murals every month. Kobra still lives and works in his hometown of São Paulo.

Kobra's Early Life

A mural of Oscar Niemeyer by Eduardo Kobra in São Paulo.

Let Me Be Myself (Anne Frank), a street art piece by Eduardo Kobra in Amsterdam.

Eduardo Kobra grew up in São Paulo, which is Brazil's largest city. His father was a weaver, and his mother was a homemaker. He went to a public school called Escola Municipal Mauricio Simão. Kobra did not have any official art training. He taught himself how to paint and became a very well-known artist. Before he started his official art career, he enjoyed drawing on walls without permission. This led to him being arrested several times when he was a teenager.

Kobra's Art Career

Eduardo Kobra was inspired by many artists from around the world. He especially looked up to muralists like Banksy, Keith Haring, and Diego Rivera. Kobra's artwork often involves a lot of research. He connects his art to history by painting famous artworks in his own style. He hopes to make people more aware of São Paulo as an important city for art.

Kobra also studies how human eyes see things. He learns about architecture and urban spaces. He wants to understand how to paint so that viewers have a special experience. His murals look very real and often have a 3D effect. This can sometimes make people wonder if they are looking at a painting or a sculpture. Creating this feeling of wonder is his main goal. Before painting in a specific place, he learns about the city's history and culture. This helps his art fit perfectly into the city. Eduardo Kobra uses his own special way of painting street art. He uses both airbrush and spray paint. These tools help him add amazing detail and create rich light and shadows. This makes his painted objects look like they are really 3D.

Art for Everyone

Kobra wants his art to be seen by everyone. He believes people should not have to go to a museum to enjoy art. He wants art to be easy for everyone to access. This idea challenges the difference between "high art" (like museum art) and "low art" (like street art). When he was a teenager, Kobra was part of a well-known graffiti group called "Hip Hop" in São Paulo. This is where he started to think about street art as a career. By the 1990s, Kobra helped make São Paulo a major place for modern street art. During this time, he started making posters for events at Brazil's largest amusement park. This was his first paid art job. His advertising for the park was very successful. Soon, other companies asked him to create advertisements for them too.

Memory Walls Project

In the early 2000s, Kobra started his "Memory Walls" project. The goal was to change city spaces with art. He also wanted to bring back old memories of the city. He used old photos of São Paulo and painted them into his graffiti. These smaller murals were spread throughout the city. They told the story of São Paulo's history. They also showed the big difference between the past and present city. He used a huge area, about 10,000 square feet, for this project. In 2007, the news media became very interested in his work. Everyone was excited to see what he would do next.

Global Murals

In 2011, Kobra painted his first mural outside of Brazil, in France. He was invited to paint on a wall in a neighborhood in Lyon, France. This neighborhood had been rebuilt and improved. The people wanted to remember this important time in their history. They wanted to show how their neighborhood had changed. In 2017, the singer Madonna asked Kobra to paint two murals. These were for the Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care in Malawi. She had seen his Fight for Street Art mural, which showed Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Kobra continues to paint in many different countries around the world.

Bob Dylan panels by Eduardo Kobra in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Kobra's Legacy

In 2016, Kobra painted what was then the largest mural. It was called Ethnic Groups and celebrated the 2016 Summer Olympics. Then, in 2017, he broke his own record. He painted a street mural that was 5,742 square meters (about 61,800 square feet). Kobra has worked for many big companies and famous people. These include Playcenter, Beto Carrero World, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Chevrolet, Ford, Roché, Johnie Walker, Londice Cacau show, and Carmim.

Kobra's Major Works

The table below lists some of Kobra's important murals.

Looking Closer at Kobra's Artworks

• V-J Day in Time Square, 2012

Eduardo Kobra got the idea for this artwork from a famous photo. The photo was taken in 1945 in New York by Alfred Eisenstaedt. Kobra's mural shows the "Sailor Kissing Woman" scene. Below it, he painted Times Square as it looked in 1945. This artwork celebrates Japan's surrender to the Allies, which ended World War II. Kobra's colorful style brought this old photograph to life for people today.

• Oscar Niemeyer, 2013

Painted in 2013, this is one of Kobra's largest and most famous murals. He painted Oscar Niemeyer on a very busy street in São Paulo. Oscar Niemeyer was a famous Brazilian architect. He passed away in 2012 at 104 years old. This mural covers an entire side of a building. It is 52 meters (about 170 feet) tall and took 40 days to finish. It was made to honor Niemeyer's important work.

• Abraham Lincoln, 2013

Kobra was asked to paint a mural of Abraham Lincoln in his home state of Kentucky in 2013. He took the well-known statue of Lincoln from the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Then, he added his own unique style to it. He painted this mural on the outside of a theater. This reminds people of Lincoln's death. However, by using the statue that honors his work to end slavery, the mural shows that Lincoln's influence lives on.

• O Candango, 2014

This mural was painted in 2014 in Brasilia, Brazil. It honors all the workers who helped build Brasilia to become Brazil's capital. People often remember President Juscelino Kubitschek for planning the new capital. But thousands of workers moved to Brasilia from all over the country. They worked for the government and faced very difficult living conditions. Kobra believed these workers needed to be honored. Without them, the capital of Brasilia would not have been possible.

• The Times They Are A-Changin', 2015

Painted in 2015 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this mural shows Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan is from Minnesota. The mural shows him at three different stages of his life. It is on the outside of an office building that houses modern companies. The mural uses one of Bob Dylan's famous song titles. By putting it on a building for everyone to see, it suggests that the economy and the city are changing.

• Olhares da Paz (Stars of Peace), 2015

This mural was painted in 2015 in Los Angeles, California. It reminds viewers that there is still hope in the world. The mural shows people who have brought hope to the world throughout their lives. It honors them for their contributions. Some of the people shown include Mother Teresa, John Lennon, Alfred Nobel, and Bob Marley.

Kobra's Exhibitions

The table below lists some of Kobra's major art shows.

See also

In Spanish: Eduardo Kobra para niños