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malcom liepkeHis striking

paintings draw tHe eye and

tHe emotions.by abel delgado

wwhen you’re in front of a malcolm Liepke painting, it’s almost

impossible to not have an emotional response. Intensity II

features a woman riveting you to the spot with her stare, while

her hands are posed in front of her almost defensively. is she

inviting viewers in or warding them off? Alone Together shows

a woman embracing a man who’s staring off into space,

distracted—or maybe alienated—from her. is it momentary

distraction or a sign he’s lost interest in her? in Seduction in

Blues and Greens, a couple lies in bed. the man is asleep, the

woman isn’t. Her expression is pensive but it’s not clear what

engage

she’s thinking—maybe she has tired of him and is focusing her

seductive gaze on someone we can’t see in the painting.

this focus on emotional content is clearly reminiscent of the

works of masters like degas and Velázquez, among others. not

a surprise—these legends were Liepke’s “teachers.” His formal

training at the art College of design in pasadena, California only

lasted a year and a half. the school’s emphasis on conceptual

art didn’t work for the young artist, who moved to new york

in the late 1970s after dropping out. while working as a

commercial artist to support himself, Liepke studied the masters

of figurative painting in museums all around the city. “He learned

composition from degas, depiction of emotion from toulouse-

Lautrec, flatness of imagery from Japanese woodblock printers

and flesh tones from Velázquez,” notes steven diamant of

arcadia Fine arts in new york City, which represents Liepke.

By the 1980s, Liepke’s commercial work had made it onto

the covers of magazines like Time, Newsweek, Forbes and

Sports Illustrated. He turned to fine art full-time in 1986 and

his work immediately resonated with buyers: his first one-man

exhibition completely sold out. since then, Liepke has continued

to be successful both critically and commercially.

the appeal of his paintings starts with his immense skill,

readily evident in his lush brushwork, compelling composition

and vivid palette. yet skill alone, as diamant observes, “is empty

and unsatisfying.” the power in Liepke’s paintings comes

from the way he uses this skill to “depict the entire spectrum

of human emotion,” explains diamant. the ultimate effect is a

feeling that each canvas is a glimpse into the hidden emotional

lives of the subjects, a meaningful moment that Liepke captures

as if he were a roving photojournalist instead of a painter.

Seduction, oil on Canvas, 20 X 32

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