Malcolm Liepke - American Art Collector - December 2008

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MercoLM Lmprn

Figuratively speaking T asr summer Minnesota native Malcolm I Liepke turned a corner in his painting sryle -LJand het not looking back.

my old work with a new spin on it. Itt an exciting time for me." Inspired by modern artists' sense of design,

said everything I had to say in those genres.

Liepkes innovative sryle blends his traditionai training with a contemporary perspective, using the figure in context to geometric shapes. "I don't see anyone in the contemporary art market doing it in a modern context. I d like to bridge that gap and blend both worlds," he says. Liepket current figures speak for themselves.

"l

I'm dealing in fields of color now,"

says

Liepke.

Gone are the narrative and allegory aspects of his work that relied on 19th century themes with backgrounds of cafds, bars, and living rooms. \While Liepke remains true to figurative subjects, in his new paintings, he plays with abstract backgrounds of geometric shapes and keeps

it

The piece

i{ed

Ponytails is expressive, with a yin

and yang harmony about

loose.

"My backgrounds don't tell

a story anymore.

I've tried to get at the essence of all my work. I've edited and simplified. I don't need the settings anymore. They became superficial," Liepke says. "Itt freed me up tremendously, and I'm inspired in going in different directions. I'm enjoying painting more than evet." Arcadia Gallery will display Liepket new

it, and

illustrates the

artistt shift in background design that plays off rhe pose or underscores it.

"I like the juxraposition ofher pose and the triangular background," says Liepke, "The pose is especially expressive and how the diagonal cuts

through her dress."

In the painting

ti:Jed Arms Up, Liepke in the same manner as she an 'X' in the painting, much like the

interpiays her pose

paintings in a solo exhibition in Nerv York. Viewers will be struck by the symmetry of Liepket larger-scale canvases, some measuring 6 by 5 feet. "I don't normally work that large but I want

creates blocks behind her.

to and need to with some of these to go full size with the figure," explains Liepke. "This shorv will be different in that everything is different in size

the base of the pyramid and the figure being the

and frames and my approach. It's a good blend

The Gallery Sdys . .

of

"l try to do that with everything. Itt like building a pyramid and the backgrounds are topping," he

says.

Theret nothing arbitrary about Liepke's evolving backgrounds; he spends much time

.

'With the arrival of each painting for this exhibition, everything that I Ioved about Liepke's works became new; the emotion, the impact and the undeniable talent of a painter who has spawned dozens of imitators. It's all there in these paintings, only this time there is a freshness and vibrancy to the works that will make every collector Iook once again and understand why Liepke is a master of contemporary, figurative paintingJ'

PoNvrnrrs, orr- oN cANVAs, 19 x

18"

$sgvs

Diamant, Ownen Arcadia Gallery


MeN wrrn Evrs Crosto, orl oN cANvAs,

r.+

x

12"

Tirr

Br,e.cx Dnrss, orr- oN cANvAS, 16 x ro"

a tension with the figure. In The Mauue Dress, the design interacts with the geometry of the pose and the geometry of the fine-tuning them and creating

background.

"The figule is always working in tandem with the background," Liepke emphasizes.

Liepke calls his transition "more evolutionary than revolutionary." So far collectors have embraced this new direction, and while it's different, he says they still recognize his rvork because each image conjures the emotion, co1or, and sensibility for which he is best known. "Collectors rvill gravitate toward those emotional aspects of figures like they've always done," says Liepke.

Arcadia Gallery owner Steve Diamant concurs.

"Having rvorked with Malcolm Liepke for I have to confess to having been 'concerned' about 'where he was going' with his new

the last 16 years,

sryle of painting . . . that was a mistake on my part," says Diamant. "With the arrival of each painting for this exhibition, everything that I loved about Liepke's works became new; the emotion, the impact and the undeniable talent of a painter who has spawned dozens

of imitators.

Itt

all there in these paintings." o

For a direct linh to the exhibiting gallerl

Am.rs Ur,, orI- oN cANvAs , rq x tz"


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