Artist Daily reportsthat “Malcolm T. Liepke is considered one of the finest figure painters working today.” Reading the article, three things strike me:
•Authenticity: “I see a girl … and I want to communicate that certain truth.”
•Intentionality: “In the beginning it’s natural to noodle everything to death, but slowly you can learn to say more with less, to make sure each brushstroke has meaning.”
•Intuition. “There’s no great art by committee.”
“Wow, this guy knows art,” I say to myself.
So I go look at his art. Online here.
“Meh.”
Malcolm T. Liepke
Models with Japanese Screen
1986
Oil
26″ x 20″
Why don’t I like his work?
Maybe it’s the way all his figures look wet? Skin doesn’t glisten quite like that.
Or maybe it’s not that. Is it the colours? He reports to mix a grey as a starting point; all his colours are derived from that one grey.
Is it the overt erotic quality? In the article, he talks about emotions, but the paintings only communicate desire (whether fulfilled or not).
I wonder whether I would be smacked in the guts if I saw one of these paintings live.
Why is it that the smacked-in-the-gut quality of some work cannot be translated onto the computer screen?
Why am I not being smacked in the guts by such a prominent artist?