Tom Lieber Monotype

Artist Tom Lieber’s Abstract Expressionist paintings have a distinct visual language. They are energetic and powerfully emotive yet contemplative through a use of graceful, bold lines, dense colors and neutral backgrounds.

Born in 1949 in St. Louis, Missouri, Lieber attended the University of Illinois where he graduated with a BFA in 1971 before obtaining his MFA in 1974. The following year, Lieber received an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1982, he was selected for the “Emerging American Artists’ Exhibition” at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. 

In 1983, Lieber began a collaboration with artist Garner Tullis to create large-scale monotypes. Through Tullis, he met influential artists such as Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, John Walker, Sean Scully, William T. Wiley and Friedel Dzubas.

Since the mid-1980s, Lieber’s abstract paintings, inspired by nature and meditation, have been characterized by his calligraphic mark-making, underlying color fields and masterful tonal variations, often anchored by a single brushstroke. His monumental, oil paint-laden canvases recall the works of Joan Mitchell, while his subtle use of color evokes the art of Mark Rothko.

In the 2000s, Lieber has been inspired by living in Kauai, Hawaii. This is evident in his landscape works and abstract prints such as “Hot Water,” “Lava” and “Black Drop X.”

Lieber’s paintings have been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally at solo and group shows. His works are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Tate in London.

On 1stDibs, find a range of Tom Lieber’s paintings and prints.

Painting is an art form that has spanned innumerable cultures, with artists using the medium to tell stories, explore and communicate ideas and express themselves. To bring abstract, landscape and still-life paintings into your home is to celebrate and share in the long tradition of this discipline.

When we look at paintings, particularly those that originated in the past, we learn about history, other cultures and countries of the world. Like every other work of art, paintings — whether they are contemporary creations or works that were made during the 19th century — can often help us clearly see and understand the world around us in a meaningful and interesting way.

Cave walls were the canvases for what were arguably the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict natural scenery through art. Portrait paintings and drawings, which, along with sculpture, were how someone’s appearance was recorded prior to the advent of photography, are at least as old as Ancient Egypt. In the Netherlands, landscapes were a major theme for painters as early as the 1500s. Later, artists in Greece, Rome and elsewhere created vast wall paintings to decorate stately homes, churches and tombs. Today, creating a wall of art is a wonderful way to enhance your space, showcase beautiful pieces and tie an interior design together.

No matter your preference, whether you favor Post-Impressionist paintings, animal paintings, Surrealism, Pop art or another movement or specific period, arranging art on a blank wall allows you to evoke emotions in a room while also showing off your tastes and interests. A symmetrical wall arrangement may comprise a grid of four to six pieces or, for an odd number of works, a horizontal row. Asymmetrical arrangements, which may be small clusters of art or large, salon-style gallery walls, have a more collected and eclectic feel. Download the 1stDibs app, which includes a handy “View on Wall” feature that allows you to see how a particular artwork will look on a particular wall, and read about how to arrange wall art. And if you’re searching for the perfect palette for your interior design project, what better place to turn than to the art world’s masters of color?

On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive collection of paintings and other fine art for your home or office. Browse abstract paintings, portrait paintings, paintings by popular artists and more today.