Monday, October 12, 1998
Living in the abstract
ART: Often compared to masters like Cezanne and Degas, Martin
Lubner shows that methods of creating are as important as art
itself as he attempts to redefine the world
By Trinh Bui
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
On the assembly line of a lamp-making factory, a young man with
poetic aspirations labored in piecing together lamp parts.
Martin Lubner worked in the factory for simple financial
reasons. While his hands fidgeted with the tiny screws and wires
that make lamps work, his mind wandered in a painted canvas where
his thoughts became thick acrylic paint. The menial job turned out
to be a defining moment in his life; that was when the painter
emerged.
‘Originally I wanted to be a poet, but at an early age in my
teens, I realized I wasn’t a very good poet and I was always
interested in trying painting. I was obsessed by images,’ Lubner
says. ‘When I was working in the factory, I realized this was not
how I intend to spend my life. And while I was putting lamps
together or being a shipping clerk, I was always thinking of
images. Those thoughts kind of set the direction.’
Finally arriving at his destination, the Los Angeles painter is
showcasing his latest works, ‘Paintings,’ at the First Independent
Gallery (FIG) through October. Forty years in the paint, Lubner’s
style and approach to his art raises comparisons to classical
masters Cezanne and Degas. His latest effort displays his knowledge
of the different styles in painting.
‘I would call his work impressionist and in this particular kind
of work, there is a formal quality to them,’ says Jeff Gambill,
director of FIG. ‘The works are basically figurative, so people
coming can, if nothing else, recognize what is going on in the
painting. They are friendly in that sense. (His) latest works
depict scenes from his studio. Not quite still-life because they
are on a large scale but views of the studio and the various
objects lying around."
Some paintings on display, including ‘Nails on a Palette’ and
‘Studio: Apples,’ represents Lubner’s curiosity for the mundane
objects in life. He tells the story of his life through the little
things that surround him; tools that he uses on an everyday basis
become the characters narrating his precious moments. The apples
talk about his diabetes, while the baseball bat or catching mitt
recalls time spent with his son playing baseball.
‘What I paint (is) personal to my physical surroundings,’ Lubner
says. ‘In a sense, I am trying to find some kind of mystery behind
the banality in my immediate life and surroundings. They represent
a departure point of shape and volume that gives me a challenge to
give them form yet not just make them just ordinary perceptual
objects. I am very preoccupied with painting the physicality of
form so that you can feel it and grab hold of it.’
In his effort to redefine the tangible properties of items into
an abstract image, Lubner’s approach to the canvas is just as
important as what he paints. His technique varies with the
expressions that he wants to capture. To give depth and a sense of
heaviness to a subject, Lubner would squeeze the paint onto the
canvas for the given effect. Little added devices in his paintings
and an occasional heavy-handed stroke of pigment transfer the
delicacy from concept to reality.
‘In a lot of these works, he has stacked the objects he is
painting in front of each other or on top of each other, so it
makes the spatial portrayal very difficult and in some cases
ambiguous,’ Gambill says. ‘There are big-scale shifts, and
sometimes you can’t tell if he is painting a real object or not.
His paint application is really heavy, which makes it difficult to
manipulate.’
Lubner adds that the style of the painter ultimately defines the
picture. For Lubner, it is the act of painting the object that
conveys more importance than the object itself.
‘Anyone can paint apples, but it is the way Cezanne paints
apples that is more important than the apple,’ says Lubner. ‘The
subject matter itself is not necessarily the true subject. The true
subject of painting can have nothing to do with the object.’
Through his paintbrushes, Lubner’s use of color and method of
putting the image on canvas led many critics to put him in the same
category as impressionist Phillip Guston. Guston’s work usually
hung the dark recesses of the human condition. But Lubner is quick
to point out that he strives to go beyond categories and lets his
paintings speak for themselves.
‘I’ve been called an impressionist, a realist, a son of a bitch.
I’ve been called many things,’ Lubner says. ‘I am one of those
painters who feel that they shouldn’t be categorized. I like to
paint things personal to me. I am very fascinated by the structure.
It is a painter’s job to expand space and that is what besieges
me.’
ART: ‘Paintings,’ by Martin Lubner, will run through Oct. 31 at
the First Independent Gallery in Santa Monica. For information,
call (310) 829-0345.
BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin
‘Squeeze,’ a painting by Martin Lubner, is on display along with
other works at First Independent Gallery.
BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin
‘Eyeglasses and Pencil’ is another work by Martin Lubner that
showcases his unique perception.
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