"Chola" 2 x 4 ft oil paint on canvas. Jan 10, 2008 Click painting to zoom in
Already the focus of much attention and controversy, Lipsky's "Chola" is grabbing the attention of
art collectors and enthusiasts from around the world. Finished on Jan 10, 2008, this oil painting
demonstrates a major turning point in Lipsky's artistic development. His transition from drawing
with pastels to oil paints is the first noticeable step. He embraces the paints and wields them with a confidence that begins to rival some of his earlier drawings in pastels.
The simplified composition also represents a new direction for Lipsky. Still holding true to his
abstract narrative style in the top left corner, Lipsky draws into the paint an image of a Keith
Haring'esque dog. The dog's name is Chola and he chases a toy. Haring is called out here
because of Lipsky's great grandparent's tradition of making pickled herring on the streets of their
homeland. Similarly to Piera Dela Francesca, Lipsky utilizes a duality of the picture plain, albeit
not through geometry but through texture and concept.
One can also see influences of Mexican desert landscape thoughout most of this piece. Lipsky
maintains that the image in the bottom left is the equivalent to a thought bubble, often found in
comics. This cactus looking shape with deep, scribbly, scriptive lines drawn into the wet paint is
meant to bring a 4th dimension to the piece...a dimension not found in any other piece. The black
lines which turn into a graffit tag are mopped on creating a path for the eye to dip and weave
horizontaly and vertically across the entire picture plain.
Lipsky claims, "The attitude of this piece repsresents the Chola subculture's rage. This piece
changes everything for me. I plan to make several more paintings based on the issues and
concepts "Chola" is digging up for me"
Not for sale. Contact me if you'd like a limited edition giclee.