Born in 1967 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Leo Villareal began experimenting with light, sound, and video while studying set design and sculpture at Yale University, where he received his BA. He earned his Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in the design of new media, computational media, and embedded computing from New York University’s pioneering interactive telecommunications program at the Tisch School of the Arts. There he also learned the programming skills that enable him to push LED technology far past familiar commercial applications.
Based in New York, Villareal has been included in many solo and group exhibitions, and has made site-specific commissions throughout the world, including at P.S.1 MoMA, New York; Brooklyn Academy of Music; Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, Kansas.
