Malcolm T. Liepke: Of Vice and Virtue

These recent works by Malcolm Liepke questions where our minds go when we are most alone. Says Liepke, “I become very interested in exploring the theatrical, the strange and the surreal – to look at the human condition from an angle most people might not (or want to) see.”
ARCADIA CONTEMPORARY
May 21st – Jun 17th 2015

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

It is with great pride that Arcadia Contemporary presents, “Malcolm Liepke: Of Vice and Virtue.” Featuring thirty, never-before-seen paintings, this exhibition represents an exciting and decidedly new chapter in Liepke’s already impressive oeuvre. For those most familiar with Liepke’s work of the past thirty years, this new series represents a dramatic and carefully thought-out departure from the narrative imagery for which he is so well known.

Eschewing the settings of bars, cafes, and domestic spaces, these new paintings position their subjects in places far more minimal and abstracted. It is in these startling and stark environments that Liepke’s subjects explore the confines of human consciousness.

From the light-hearted scene in “Big Bubble,” to the terror evident in “Panic Room,” Liepke guides his viewers through the full spectrum of human emotion and into the places our minds wander when we are at our most solitary.

“I wanted to explore the concept of how alone we are and where we’re going,” he declares. With these isolated figures, Liepke presents solitary humans in settings rendered with a quiet, almost religious “placelessness.” Many of the figures, grounded in rich, painterly fields stand defiantly...as if to almost confront the viewer.

There are, however, a few, distinct exceptions to this more minimal presentation as depicted in works such as the show- stopping, “Big Top.” Here, the viewer almost accidentally intrudes upon the solemnity and stoic isolation of a circus performer. Perhaps caught between performances, she grabs a moment out of the spotlight. Her face, unflinching, reveals neither acceptance nor interruption…just being.

At the other end of the “situational spectrum” appears “Tiny Dancer,” featuring a voluptuous, dynamic and erotically charged “Queen of the Night” whose every movement is meant to garner the attention she so richly craves and deserves.

Welcome to the world of Malcolm T. Liepke.

“Malcolm T. Liepke: Of Vice and Virtue,” will be on view from May 21 through June 17. Please join us for an opening reception on Thursday, May 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

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