David Ligare
Landscape with Eros and Endymion, 1990-92
Oil on canvas
60" x 78"
Gift of Andrew Sie

The Member's Gallery
by Wayne Snellen

The New Neoclassicism. Artists reinvent the classical style. Work from the permanent collection.

Classicism, neoclassicism, new neoclassicism — what's in a name?

Since the Greeks seem to have created something timeless artists, from time to time, try to revive the Greek ideals amidst contemporary society. Leslie-Lohman has recently been the recipient of several works of art that fall within the above categories, the most notable being, David Ligare's, Landscape with Eros and Endymion. Other examples are, Victor Gadino's, Dionysius, and Wes Hempel's, American Rudder — all works in a classic style that deal with contemporary issues.

These artists are frequently accused of being out of step with current thought. However, David Ligare says, "I make paintings that are on some levels anachronistic, that is, out of their supposed historical order. I believe in allowing myself to time travel, to wander freely through history rather than being inflexibly attached to the present. This does not mean, however, that I reject modern or contemporary art. I do not. Contemporary art and social values inform the way that I interpret and use historical art."

Well. Perhaps it is we who are out of step. And perhaps classicism has never gone away. It just goes underground and from time to time pops out to remind us of our roots.