Malcolm Liepke: Altered States
American artist Malcolm Liepke was born in 1953 and raised in Minneapolis. He is an experienced, mid-career painter who has exhibited all over the world; his work is represented in numerous private and public collections. Continuing a fruitful professional relationship, Pontone Gallery is proud to present his new paintings, which further investigate and articulate his sensuous images of male and female models.
He is a painter of a particular world, a ‘demi-monde’, inhabited by mostly young and attractive subjects, who project an air of self-absorption and watchfulness. Isolated figures pose with an almost insolent self-regard, others appear more vulnerable, as if exhausted by the rigours of a dissolute life. Particularly of note are the group compositions, where his subjects interact, evoking tender and sensual feelings, modifying the potential solipsism of their characters. Genuine emotion is on display in a world of mutual grooming and self-presentation.
Liepke paints with an assured, expressive and fluent handling of his medium. His frank enjoyment of the texture of male and female flesh is fully embodied in the rich and luscious quality of the oil. Thick, clotted and sticky passages contrast with slick, fluid glazes. Cream-like paint is laid down in planes of acidic, pastel hues of greens, blues, pinks, purples and oranges, making dramatic contrast with descriptive areas of pale skin-tones. His responsive manipulation of the brush and medium subtly reacts to the contour and surface of the subject, articulating a world of sensation.
The compositions speak of an interior, artificially-lit, urban world: a locale of bars, nightclubs, studios and house-parties. There is an accompanying sense of erotic intoxication. This is a milieu familiar to us from the paintings of Degas, Lautrec, Manet, Hopper, Sargent and many others. Liepke, painting his contemporary cast of provocative characters, makes a connection with the past and presents us with an archetypal portrait. The inhabitants of this ‘bohemian’ world are as serious and worthy of study as anyone.
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Biker Girl, 2017Oil on canvas132 x 102 cm
52 x 40.2 in -
Party's Over, 2017Oil on canvas53 x 76 cm
20.8 x 29.9 in -
Party Hats, 2017Oil on canvas56 x 46 cm
22.1 x 18.1 in -
Red Hat, 2017Oil on canvas28 x 23 cm
11 x 9.1 in -
Couple in Bed, 2017Oil on canvas46 x 58 cm
18 x 23 in -
Dreaming, 2017Oil on canvas56 x 46 cm
22 x 18 in -
In Her Arms, 2017Oil on canvas61 x 51 cm
24 x 20 in -
In the Bath, 2017Oil on canvas51 x 76 cm
20.1 x 29.9 in -
End of the Night, 2017Oil on canvas51 x 51 cm
20.1 x 20.1 in -
Big Red Hair, 2017Oil on canvas36 x 25 cm
14 x 10 in -
At the Bar, 2017Oil on canvas76 x 51 cm
30 x 20 in -
Balloons, 2017Oil on canvas71 x 61 cm
28 x 24 in -
Blue Dress, 2017Oil on canvas41 x 30 cm
16 x 12 in -
Dance Club, 2017Oil on canvas76 x 56 cm
30 x 22 in -
Green Dress, 2017Oil on canvas40 x 38 cm
16 x 15 in -
Grey Coat, 2017Oil on canvas36 x 23 cm
14 x 9 in -
Kissing Couple, 2017Oil on canvas25 x 25 cm
10 x 10 in -
Resting, 2017Oil on canvas30 x 30 cm
12 x 12 in -
Tilted Head, 2017Oil on canvas25 x 20 cm
10 x 8 in -
Turned Away [Triptych], 2017Oil on canvas51 x 122 cm
20 x 48 in -
Twisted, 2017Oil on canvas58.5 x 38 cm
23 x 15 in -
Two Friends, 2017Oil on canvas25 x 36 cm
10 x 14 in -
Young Girl, 2017Oil on canvas20 x 30 cm
8 x 12 in