Reconciling two important aesthetic impulses, Form and Color, was for a very long time one of the most exciting areas of refined representational art as well as one of its most hotly debated topics.

At the last CU showcase, we explored the influence of the emerging strong California figure school on the venerable California plein air tradition.

For our second installment on the subject, we are fortunate to showcase the new work by one of the best living American figurative painters, Adrian Gottlieb. Within the classical representational vernacular he mastered, the human figure remains the highest and most complex expression of Form. Effectively depicting it with elusive and complicated outdoor lighting is crucial in order to achieve the authentic experience, as well as the specific mood, and requires a remarkable degree of artistic prowess.

Processing the great California plein air tradition of California's leading figure painters is  uniquely important in attaining such rare ability. In his recent paintings Adrian is exploring new levels of coloristic subtleties that greatly advance their impact.

Effectively combining the expressive potentials of both Form and Color was long considered the holy grail by generations of representational masters. It is remarkable and exciting to see the cutting edge California artists today writing a new chapter in this quest. 

in ART we trust!