About

Statement

Duality has been a driving force in my art through much of my painting career.  Whether that is in a more direct representation with multiple imagery or with a more internal struggle with the push and pull of beauty versus repulsion.

Multiple images can be seen at once in a delicate balance between realism and abstraction.  With inviting color schemes and decipherable subject matter, the viewer is drawn in but still left to decide where they are and what they are seeing.  The portrait remains a constant in my work, drawing on the connection and closeness of human interaction.

My most recent work attempts to explore new narratives, not even necessarily my own.  While I am always looking to tell a story through visual imagery, I recognize that my own voice could be used for amplifying.  I seek to also tell stories of other people while I am still experimenting in duality.  The mode of communicating in visual imagery is somewhere between beauty and repulsion.  The viewer is drawn in by moments of realism but needs to make that journey on their own.  Loose handling of the structure and a revel in paint is the bridge they need to cross and their contribution to the story.

Many different media exist in my toolbox but oil paint is my main mode of storytelling. The paintings have a life of their own that exists past the initial photographs and sketches that inspire them. The handling of the paint shows the motion of the arm as it manipulates the brush. The finished work provokes the viewer to find the balance within duality.


Bio

Libby was born and now resides in Philadelphia.  He has also lived and worked in Lancaster, and Phoenixville.  Libby received his Masters of Fine Arts in painting from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 2011.  He received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in painting and a Bachelors of Science in Art Education in 2006 from Millersville University.  Currently, he serves as lead art instructor at Perkiomen Valley High School in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.