Artist Spotlight - Leo Gesess
Biography
Me.
When I first opened my eyes, I was in Switzerland with a Swiss passport and, thanks to my parents, a lot of Italian creative blood. When I smoked my first cigarette, I was a student at Zurich University of the Arts, where Max Bill had also studied before me. After graduating, I immediately started working as a creative in international advertising agencies. After two years, I was one of the youngest creative directors, then a member of the management team, and finally the owner/partner of two advertising agencies.
Since I had bigger goals than being an employee, I founded the COMCOM creative agency, which within five years handled more international business in Switzerland than many other advertising agencies. My work can be found at: www.comcom.ooo. And under “awards” you can also find my fantastic awards.
My credo: ALL WAYS DIFFERENT.
Artist Statement
One image – one mission. What does my image have to do with Francis of Assisi (Francis of Assisi is considered the patron saint of animals, the environment, and ecology. In the prayer “Canticle of the Sun,” which the saint wrote in the 13th century, he described animals as brothers and sisters of humans and expressed gratitude to nature, its phenomena, and wonders.) with my picture or series of pictures? 800 years! On the 800th (this year-2026) anniversary of his death, my picture was chosen as the cover for a book entitled “Animal Worlds of Art.”
And
When I discovered my love for these wonderful, strong, freedom-loving horses, it was probably the idea of unbridled freedom that fascinated me. Their manes wild in the wind, like mine as a member of the 1968 generation. Much later, during a photo session with the world-famous trotter Varenne (Varenne is considered to be the best trotter of all time. No other trotter has won so many of the most important races in the world and set as many records as Varenne.), I had a flash of inspiration, or perhaps it was a eureka moment, to give the picture a different meaning. How could I give the motif a mission? A visual connection to the forces we all know and fear, but also revere, especially in mythology. Without in-depth mythological knowledge, I saw the connection to the forces of nature as a motif. And so the Thunderhorse was born.
Many legends surround this term, especially among the Lakota or Dakota Indians. In Native American mythology, particularly among the peoples of the Great Plains such as the Lakota (Sioux) and Apache, “Thunderhorses” are powerful, supernatural beings closely associated with the weather and the spirit world. Their neighing is equated with thunder and their gallop with the rumbling of the sky. Their gallop is interpreted as thunder and the flashing of their eyes as lightning. Mission complete!
Important note: These images were created without any technical assistance (AI). They were photographed by me and combined into one image using technically sophisticated composition. NO AI AT ALL!
