Xavier Leopold

Artist Bio

Xavier Laurent Leopold is a South London-based multidisciplinary artist and author. His practice is grounded in faith, memory, and the dualities of contemporary life, engaging ancestral and sensory experience to pursue the transcendent through material, form, and gesture. Moving fluidly between abstraction, figuration, and sculpture, Leopold considers how time, introspection, and legacy are embodied within both the body and material culture. Drawing on ancestral ties to Sierra Leone and Martinique, his work pairs disciplined structure with moments of vulnerability, reflecting on what it means to be held, to endure, and to transform.

A Sir Frank Bowling Scholar at the Royal College of Art (MA Sculpture), Leopold previously worked in asset management, a background that informs the rigour, clarity, and long-term thinking underpinning his practice. Beginning painting during the 2020 lockdown, his work has since been presented at institutions including Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), the Barbican, Christie’s, and Sotheby’s Institute, with international presentations across New York, Miami Art Week, and Dakar Biennial OFF.

Recent commissions include work with Hospital Rooms, extending his practice into public and care-led contexts. A committed mental-health advocate and Place2Be Champion, he leads workshops nationally and lectures internationally. His first book, Art for the Heart, is held by MoMA, Tate Modern, and the Wellcome Collection. His practice is driven by reinvention, positioning his work for enduring cultural resonance.

Available Works

Held Together, Breaking Free, 2025
Mixed Media
n/a