”No. 9 from 1962 (Fighter)”
2010
oil on canvas
24” x 50”
1962
Lawrence Gipe
“1962: New Paintings and Drawings”
Lawrence Gipe’s latest paintings and drawings are derived from photographic images published in 1962 by the Soviet Union. Many of the source photos originally came from U.S.S.R. propaganda tracts written in German aimed at Eastern Bloc audiences to promote and celebrate its achievements and influence. In 1962, the Soviet Union reached its greatest extension of territorial control and morale of its people was high, having just sent the first man into space the previous year.
What interests Gipe in “1962” is how a totalitarian power decided to portray itself through a self-generated photographic record. Choosing a variety of genres (bucolic and industrial landscapes, portraiture and magazine journalism), Gipe re-presents them as paintings and drawings – creating a new, critical context for the images. The title is also the artist’s birth year, but any tendency towards autobiography is incidental.
This exhibition links with Gipe’s latest research; last January, he lectured at the Höchschule für Bildende Kunst in Dresden, Germany on the topic of “Nostalgia and Ideology” – it is available as a free web-based essay at www.nostalgiaandideology.com.
”No.1 from 1962 (Hero)”
2010
oil on canvas
25” x 29”
”No. 7 from 1962 (Manchester)”
2010
oil on canvas
65” x 80”
”No. 4 from 1962 (Birches)”
2010
oil on canvas
36” x 50”
”No. 8 from 1962”
2009-10
pencil on paper
24” x 18”
”No.5 from 1962 (Warsaw)”
2010
oil on canvas
42” x 114”
”No.2 from 1962 (Plane)”
2010
oil on canvas
25” x 34”
”No. 3 from 1962 (Museum)”
2010
oil on canvas
60” x 48”
”No. 6 from 1962 (Lenin’s Tomb)”
2010
oil on panel
18” x 24”