Career
He has been called the father of “Sexpressionism” by art critic Carlo McCormick. His work has been criticized for using the swastika symbol and sexual imagery for the purposes of shock and controversy. Leyba is inspired by Native American motifs such as the swastika, Apache Gahn Dancers, images of Native American warriors such as Geronimo, as well as the landscape of the human body.
In March 1997 his painting “Wounded Knee Decomposition” was censored by the KiMo Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico during a Native American art exhibition held to raise money to allow American Indian prison inmates to hold and attend sweat lodge ceremonies.
A special screen was set up to segregate his painting from the rest of the exhibit. During the performance Leyba was sodomized by a woman wearing a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey in a harness.
The performance resulted in national media attention including the front page of the New York Times, references in scholarly articles, and public debate. In 2002 he was the subject of the film documentary "Unspeakable:The Life & Art of Reverend Steven Johnson Leyba" by Marc Rokoff.