In the Artist’s Studio with Painter Lisa Lebofsky

“My work explores the potency of the mind when it engages with nature. The natural world functions as a launch point for liberating the mind from restrictions imposed by everyday life. In addition to being of limitless visual inspiration, nature provides an essential and symbolic role throughout my work. Images of reverie such as tidal waters, deep forests and ephemeral clouds are prominently featured — the cusp of infinite space and contemplation. The sublime landscapes embody the transcendent psyche.”

Lisa Lebofsky is a painter residing in Bronx, New York. Her work investigates the dynamics of the boundless mind through furthering the landscape as a metaphor for the transcendent psyche. She has an MFA in painting from the New York Academy of Art and BFA in metals from SUNY New Paltz. Her work is in private collections, and has been exhibited in solo and group shows both nationally and internationally. She teaches fine art and design classes at private and public institutions in New York Metropolitan area and is the director of Fuse Gallery in the East Village. Among several awards and residencies, she is a recent recipient of the Platte Clove Artist in Residence Program in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

Inspired by recent travel to Antarctica, Lisa Lebofsky’s newest body of work is an exploration of nature in its most raw form. She selects subject matter from nature that is white because of its minimalism, subtleties and reflective qualities. The images are rendered with thin layers of oil paint applied onto sanded aluminum. The metal is left exposed to produce a unifying luminescence that can either permeate each painting, or, if viewed at precise angles, obliterate the image. This fluctuating luster mimics the subtle movements of light experienced in nature.

“Huron Glacier” Oil on aluminum 25″ x 40″

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Sara Beth Jonassen, WFA: Your work is so strikingly dictated by your choice of surface medium, namely manipulated aluminum — how did you come to discover this surface, and what role does it play throughout your creative process?

Lisa Lebofsky: I have a background as a metalsmith and came across some aluminum lithography plates at a scrap yard. I thought the surface was too beautiful to hammer so I held onto them and eventually started to paint on them. I developed a technique of painting on aluminum over years of experimentation, mistakes and discoveries. I was always interested in landscape painting and found the aluminum to be a great material to work with to capture the subtle movements of light in nature. The luminosity is not always predictable - I use this attribute to inform the development of the painting.

SBJ: The monochromatic tones of your paintings are one of their most interesting qualities — what are the challenges (and benefits), if any, to working with such a restrained tonal palette?

LL: Technically: the minimal palette has its benefits and challenges. Since I only use at most a handful of colors per painting, I can focus on the forms and subtleties of light and color without many variables. However, because color is so minimized, I have to really make sure I fully develop the forms and textures - there is little room for error. Conceptually: it’s a conceptual choice to use the minimal palette. I don’t want to the paintings to ever be fully realized either with color or imagery - I want the viewer to have room to fill in the gaps and insert their own readings into the work.

SBJ: As effective symbolic depictions of ethereal spiritual states, your landscapes literally appear and disappear when viewed at certain angles — was this a happy accident, or did you manipulate the aluminum specifically to achieve this effect?

LL: It was a happy effect and I ran with it.

SBJ: Sometimes your paintings depict solitary figures poignantly arranged against sweeping natural backdrops, other times the landscape itself is the central figure. Can you say a few words about your choice whether or not to include the human figure in your work?

LL: I’ve been moving away from including the figure. When you put a figure in a setting, it creates a narrative, which is not what I want my work to be about. I have tried to work against any narrative by incorporating the figure so that it mirrors or blends into its surroundings. Now I’m opting to allow the viewer to be that figure.

SBJ: You were the Platte Clove Artist in Residence through the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development for 2011. In which direction did this residence shape the course of your work?

LL: Aside from providing ample inspiration and time to produce, the residency encouraged the development of new techniques that I have taken back to the studio. For example, I never painted a waterfall plein air on metal before. I liked the challenge of painting such a fast moving subject and trying to capture its energy through varied mark making.

SBJ: Would you describe your painting process and its influence on the final product, from conception to actualization?

LL: Since I am painting on a reflective surface, the image I produce varies with the changing light. To control this, I paint in several thin layers so that the image develops much like a photograph in the darkroom. This allows me to make decisions and adjustments to the image early on.

SBJ: How much of a new painting is planned, and how much is inspired or suggested by the environment in which you are immersed?

LL: Before the brush touches the metal, I spend considerable time traveling, hiking, photographing, sketching and producing studies to find the perfect subjects to paint. It’s very important that what I paint is a place I have visited - I want to recreate the unique sensation of that place in the final painting.

SBJ: After time spent painting on site at a location, how much of the finished product is achieved in-studio?

LL: I rarely go back into a plein air painting. I will revisit a location until that painting is finalized.

SBJ: In what direction do you see your work moving in the future?

LL: North.

Images: Above right, “Garzon Glacier” Oil on aluminum 16″ x 10″, Above, “Petzval Glacier” Oil on aluminum 40″ x 64″