Stephen Godlieb

John Lewis
Oil on canvas
ID Number: 0086

Stephen Godlieb is a painter born in Jakarta, Indonesia, who currently resides and works in New Hampshire. He obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. His work has been widely exhibited nationally in both solo and group shows, including at Merge Arts in Manhattan, NY, the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery in Portsmouth, NH, and the Spectrum Art Fair in Miami, FL. Godlieb’s work is held in numerous public and private collections internationally. His work has also been featured in publications such as IDIR Magazine and Studio Visit Magazine.

Godlieb’s art centers on the human figure, which he uses to express abstraction fully. His subjects are often his friends and family, and he encourages them to provoke thought and mood through their gaze. “I’m not interested in presenting the viewer with an ambivalent or pleasant painting,” Godlieb says. “I prefer emotive strength.” He is interested in abstract concepts and uses the figure as the scaffold for his ideas. He treats color within the medium quite aggressively, showing the realism of the figure while also adding paint marks that blend into the background, creating abstract spaces.

In addition to his work as a painter, Godlieb was awarded Outstanding Upcoming Painter by Seacoast Magazine and curated the exhibition Swimming with the Lights Off at the Riversea Gallery. He continues to push the boundaries of figuration and abstraction in his work, stating, “I believe my pursuit as a painter is to straddle the line between figuration and abstraction.”

For more information
Stephen Godlieb, 'John Lewis', 8 x 10 inches, Oil on canvas, 2020