The Judgment of Paris Painting

I love to paint. I’ve been blessed by timing. To be alive right now for this chapter in arts history is a phenomenal gift. Classicism, once pronounced “dead” is reemerging with a new contemporary vitality. The gifts of modernism: color, form, and abstraction, are now being seamlessly integrated with the craftsmanship and techniques of the past. How wonderful to have so much wealth at my fingertips! – Gabriel Mark Lipper Two of Gabriel Lipper’s current series of paintings Urban Legend and Thoroughbred examine the Dionysian beauty and indulgent luxury of contemporary culture. “I host cocktail parties and paint the people who show up,” says Lipper. His ability to “paint the people who show up,” translates into brilliant paintings filled with lush color and strong brushwork, creating evocative moods. Lipper’s figures are beautifully rendered with strong light and confident form, a nod to his academic background, while his compositions and subjects are anything but academic. His paintings seduce viewers into an opulent world. Searching eyes and empty glasses engage us while others stay lost in their own introspection. The backgrounds dance with heavy impasto paint and heady color. His narrative subjects exist in an environment of painterly abstraction. “I’ve always been a bit of a voyeur. Hopefully, by observing the surface, I’m able to glean a bit of understanding as to what’s going on inside.” The people in Gabriel’s paintings vary wildly. Bull riders, a woman lost in her thoughts, vacant hipsters, a seasoned magnate, are all painted with the same love and respect. Lipper’s love of art, and respect for the muse are the driving forces behind what he chooses to paint.