Malcolm T. Liepke, American painter, was born and raised in Minneapolis. As a student he hungered for 'classical' training rather than the 'conceptual' ideas being taught. In a bold move, he left the Art Center College in Los Angeles and went to New York.
That Malcolm Liepke’s paintings are arrestingly beautiful is evident, but they are much more.
Through pattern, colour and bravura brushwork, Liepke delves deeply into profound areas of human nature. He has exhibited extensively internationally enjoying phenomenal success with a string of sell out exhibitions.
He is an experienced, mid-career painter who has exhibited all over the world; his work is represented in numerous private and public collections.
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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Malcolm T. Liepke, pittore Americano🎨, è nato e cresciuto a Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ha studiato all'Art Center College of Design di Los Angeles, in California, ma ha abbandonato dopo un anno e mezzo.
Come studente aveva fame di formazione "classica" piuttosto che delle idee "concettuali" che venivano insegnate. Con una mossa audace, lasciò l'Art Center College di Los Angeles ed andò a New York.
A New York inizia a studiare da solo artisti come John Singer Sargent, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Diego Velázquez, James McNeill Whistler ed Édouard Vuillard. A sua volta, il suo stile ha ispirato altri.
È evidente che i dipinti di Malcolm Liepke sono incredibilmente belli, ma lo sono molto di più.
Attraverso pennellate di motivi, colori e bravura, Liepke approfondisce le aree profonde della natura umana. Ha esposto a livello internazionale godendo di un successo fenomenale con una serie di mostre esaurite.
Il lavoro di Liepke è stato ampiamente mostrato ed esposto alla Pastel Society of America, all'American Watercolour Society, alla National Academy of Design e al National Arts Club.
La sua arte è stata sulle copertine di Time, Newsweek, Forbes e Fortune. Le sue opere sono ora nella collezione della Smithsonian Institution e del Brooklyn Museum.
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