John Leben

John Leben works in environmental themes. His paintings are serious explorations of the horrors of Global Warming that, paradoxically, make you smile. They are often whacky and outrageous, but instilled with a
subtle sense of angst that makes you think.

Leben’s formal training is in traditional painting and printmaking. He has an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has studied at the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. Today, his computer is his medium. He paints his pictures wielding powerful painting programs with skill and panache, instilling them with an other-worldly aura.

But the pictures, not the technique, are the stars of this show. Bold, painterly renderings using surrealistic imagery, fantasy and humor to comment on pressing environmental challenges.