Illuminated XI

About Clay Lipsky

Ethereal Abstraction “Looking through the lens is much like looking into another dimension for me. It is a medium that offers so much diversity in terms of style and expression.” It was only a few years ago that Clay Lipsky began… Read more

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Ethereal Abstraction

“Looking through the lens is much like looking into another dimension for me. It is a medium that offers so much diversity in terms of style and expression.”

It was only a few years ago that Clay Lipsky began to focus entirely on photography. In his “Illuminated” series, in which the images have a powerful narrative and strong symbolism, it is easy to recognise his previous experience as a director. The scenes evoke a perfect summer’s day with surging waves, salty sea air, and sand between our toes, and they are imbued with an almost irrepressible urge for freedom. Lipsky achieves this effect by overlaying components: Amidst trees, meadows, beaches and the ocean, the distinctive silhouette of a woman emerges.

Using double exposures, the artist captures the sensual female form, but the enigmatic stranger remains a shadow standing before a dreamlike backdrop. Through this abstraction, Lipsky’s photographs develop a lightness and a timeless allure. With their iconic imagery, the photos recall scenes from our collective memories, calling on us to recollect and relive our own endless summers. The use of Polaroid film for the series only serves to strengthen this effect, allowing the artist to generate quite remarkable colours while lending the images an original yet vintage appearance.

Clay Lipsky has been recognised with the prestigious Emmy Award for his graphic design work. His photographs have already appeared in countless exhibitions in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Warsaw to name a few.
Hannah Hör

VITA

1974	Born in Scottsdale, USA
	Lives and works in Los Angeles, USA

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

2013	Atomic Overlook, Smithsonian’s National Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas, USA

Group Exhibitions

2014	Faces of America, dnj Gallery, Santa Monica, USA
2014	Alternate Realities, Arena1, Santa Monica, USA
2014	Fact and Friction, Chung King Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2014	Structure, Wall Space Gallery, Santa Barbara, USA
2014	Critical Mass Top 50 Show, Houston Center for Photography, USA
2013	Ballarat International Foto Bienniale, Victoria, Australia
2013	Plastic Camera Show, Rayko, San Francisco, USA
2013	Emerging Focus, Photo LA, Los Angeles, USA
2012	The Next: Emerging LA Artists, Perfect Exposure Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2012	Lust, Jennifer Schwartz Gallery, Atlanta, USA
2012	Momentum, Impossible Project Space, New York City, USA
2012	LA Collection, Duncan Miller Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2011	Dirty, Tampa Museum of Art, USA
2011	Water: Our Thirsty World, Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles, USA