Leer
Peter Stichbury
Leer, 1998
acrylic on canvas, 1115 x 1115mm
signed and dated verso: Leer acrylic 1998 Peter Stichbury
Provenance: Private Collection, Wellington
There is a certain quietly menacing intensity about Peter Stichbury’s Leer (1998). This acrylic on canvas is a true Stichbury in style where the hand-clasped figures appear to be both telling a story and keeping their distance.
The well-crafted eyebrows, large eyes and lips with smooth skin are staples in Stichbury’s painting style. The strong noses and the painting’s glossy finish reference Stichbury’s use of fashion and advertising stereotypes and create a sense of untouchablity about the figures.
The painting’s title Leer means ‘empty’ or ‘vacant’ in German. The familiar vacant expressions on the faces of models in fashion is referenced both in the title of this work and the figures it presents.
The frightening intensity shown in the eyes of the blond figure hits the viewer with a sense of compassion and nervousness for the foreground figure on the left and what he has just agreed to. The forceful communication that is happening between these two figures is highlighted by the strong beams of light shining on their faces and clothes.
The smooth and flat, chocolate-like colour of the background hides and then slowly reveals two figures, both of whom look like stereotypical mafia members. On the left is the muscled ‘get the job done’ type with tight black t-shirt and to the right is the smooth negotiator with bowtie and greased hair.
Stichbury has mirrored and contrasted the figures to create a sense of form and structure. The mirroring of the clothing on the background figures with the opposite on the foreground figures is stylistically strong. The polished and slick look of the blond figure on the right against the character on the left with his open necked shirt and shadow of stubble heightens the narrative and its implications and tensions.
The figures appear to float on the canvas as, despite the use of a white foreground tablecloth, there is no frame of reference against the brown background. And yet the firm, all connecting hand-shakes create a sense of binding the figures together which connects all parts of the painting and balances the image well.
Stichbury has the ability to tell a story using facial expressions - the joy in Leer is deciphering what the full and true story could be. (Text by Georgina Barr)