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José Leonilson Bezerra Dias (Fortaleza, Ceará, 1957 - São Paulo, São Paulo, 1993) was a Brazilian painter, draftsman, and sculptor. In 1961, he moved with his family to São Paulo. Between 1977 and 1980, he studied art education at the Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado (Faap), where he was taught by Julio Plaza and Nelson Leirner. He also studied watercolor under Dudi Maia Rosa at the Aster art school from 1978 to 1981. In 1981, he held his first solo exhibition at the Casa do Brasil gallery in Madrid and traveled to other European cities. In Milan, he met Antonio Dias, who introduced him to the art critic Achille Bonito Oliva, associated with the Italian transavantgarde movement.

Leonilson returned to Brazil in 1982. His work is predominantly autobiographical, focusing on the last ten years of his life. Critic Lisette Lagnado describes each piece as a letter to an intimate diary. In 1989, Leonilson began incorporating stitches and embroidery into his works, which became recurring elements in his production.

In 1991, he was diagnosed with HIV, and this condition significantly influenced his work. His final project, an installation at the Capela do Morumbi in São Paulo in 1993, carries a spiritual sense and reflects on the fragility of life. For this exhibition and another solo show held the same year, he received a posthumous tribute and an award from the Associação Paulista de Críticos de Artes (APCA) in 1994. In the same year of his death, family and friends founded the Projeto Leonilson, aiming to organize his archives and promote his works.

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