Robert Lebsack’s mixed-media paintings layers human subjects and landscapes in ink, acrylic, and charcoal atop fragments of headlines, articles, and advertising from newspapers. With the newspaper providing the social and cultural background (literally and figuratively), Lebsack uses the confrontations between his subjects and a surreal and inscrutable landscape to address various crises of contemporary society, such as materialism, nuclear proliferation, waste, loneliness, and isolation. The newspaper fragments often are juxtaposed seemingly at random, challenging the viewer to read the bits and form their own interpretation and free word association. Lebsack also has a very active practice as a large-scale public muralist.