Eduardo Kobra

Carlos Eduardo Fernandes Léo (born August 27, 1975, in São Paulo, Brazil ), known as Eduardo Kobra, nicknamed Kobra, is a street artist who officially began his career in 1987 at 11 years old, in his hometown of São Paulo. Since then he has painted over 3,000 murals on five different continents. To this day Kobra continues to live and work in his hometown of São Paulo.

Early life Portrait of Oscar Niemeyer by Eduardo Kobra, on a building in São Paulo. Let Me Be Myself (Anne Frank), street art by Eduardo Kobra in Amsterdam.

Eduardo Kobra grew up in São Paulo, Brazil's largest city. His father was a weaver and his mother was a housewife. He attended public school at Escola Municipal Mauricio Simão. He did not get any official academic training, but became a well known, self-taught artist. Before he started his official art career, he enjoyed illegally tagging walls which eventually lead to several arrests throughout his teenage years. Eduardo Kobra uses his own technique when it comes to street art. This technique involves airbrush and spray paint. By using these two mediums he is able to use immense detail, perfect aesthetic and rich light and shadow to make his objects appear 3-D. During his teenage years Kobra ran with a well-known graffiti group known as "Hip Hop" in São Paulo which was who he began experimenting with street art as a career. In 2021, Kobra created a large-scale work depicting five women, each representing one of the continents (Africa, America, Asia, Europe, Oceania) at the World Trade Center, New York City.

His career has continued as he is a still a practicing artist, painting in different countries around the world. His portrait of television journalist Glória Maria was unveiled in Glória Maria Municipal Park in 2024.

Legacy In 2016 Kobra painted the then largest mural titled Ethnic Groups which celebrated the 2016 Olympic games. Then in 2017 he surpassed his own record when he painted a street mural that was 5,742 square meters.

Analysis of individual artworks

V-J Day in Time Square, 2012 Eduardo Kobra draws his inspiration for this work of art from Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous photograph taken in 1945 in New York. Kobra takes this artwork and situates it in its original historical context by painting a scene below his depiction of Sailor Kissing Woman, of Time Square in 1945 which was the same year this photo was taken. This artwork is a celebration of Japan’s surrender to the Allies, ending World War II. The colorfulness of Kobra's final product gave the original photograph life in contemporary society. Oscar Niemeyer, 2013 Painted in 2013, this is one of Kobra's biggest and most well-known murals. He painted Oscar Niemeyer on one of São Paulo's busiest street. This mural covers an entire side of the building and is 52 meters tall and took 40 days to complete. This mural depicts a famous Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer who died at the age of 104 in 2012 and is meant to honor his legacy. Abraham Lincoln, 2013 Kobra was invited to paint a mural of Abraham Lincoln in his home state of Kentucky in 2013. He took the image from the famous statue of Lincoln which stands in the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and overlaid his own style. He painted this mural on the outside of a theater which evokes Lincoln's death, but by using the statue that honors his abolition of slavery the viewer is able to see how his influence has not died in the theater, but continues to live on. O Candango, 2014 Painted in 2014, in Brasilia, Brazil, this mural honors all of the labors who made it possible for Brasilia to be the capital of Brazil. Historically the building of the capital is credited to the President Juscelino Kubitschek who was the brain behind the Republic’s new seat which completely changed the economy of Brazil. What is often forgotten are the thousands of laborers who moved from all over the country to Brasilia to work for the government, enduring awful living conditions to make the capital of Brasilia possible. These were the individuals that Kobra believed needed to be honored because without them the capital would not have been possible. The Times They Are A-Changin', 2015 Painted in 2015, in Minneapolis, Minnesota this is a mural depicting Bob Dylan, native to Minnesota in three distinctive phases of his life on the outside of a remodeled office building known as housing ‘new-economy’ companies. Taking one of Bob Dylan’s famous quotes such as this and proclaiming it on the outside of a building where everyone can see it depicts that the economy is changing which changes the city as a whole. Olhares da Paz (Glimpses of Peace), 2015 Painted in 2015 in Los Angeles, California this mural reminds the viewer that there is still hope in the depraved world. The mural depicts individuals who have given hope to the world throughout their lives and honors them. Some of the individuals depicted include Mother Teresa, Malala Yousafzai, Martin Luther King Jr. and Dalai Lama.

Exhibitions The following table lists Kobra's major exhibitions.