Four Trees
Artist
Robert Kipniss
(b. 1931)
Date2007
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions20 x 32 in.
ClassificationsOil Painting
Credit LineGift of James White
Object number2011.38
DescriptionThe semi-abstract landscapes of Robert Kipniss are hauntingly beautiful displays of the natural world. Inspired by the simple act of seeing and the sensations it conjures, the artist creates, develops, and constantly reworks his paintings from memory.Interested in the dialogue between drawing and painting, Kipniss has long adhered to Edgar Degas' (1834-1917) mantra that "everything starts with drawing." Rather than building up color and volume through subtle glazing, he achieves translucency through pure, opaque layering of paint. In a combination of serendipity and control, Kipniss starts with a middle tone, constantly reworking darks and lights over time. The illusory quality of the paint in "Four Trees", much like the hazy, dream-like atmosphere, adds to the painting's mysterious nature. Kipniss, who works in isolation inside a studio devoid of light, aims to preserve the edgy, yet quietly introspective environment of his workplace in his paintings by excluding human activity. Therefore, the artist's fragile, evanescent depictions of the environment become artifacts of an untouchable, vanishing world.
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