"Adrian Gottlieb paints marvelous figurative compositions, especially portraits and genre scenes. He is a portraitist whose vision is so penetrating and profound that it seems as if he sees into the souls of his sitters. Gottlieb works directly from the live model.”
In his portraits we somehow see timelessness itself. We all have occasional flashes of heightened awareness, but Gottlieb seems to operate at that level all the time. He is glad to share these moments with us and help us relive our own, showing us the mystery and miraculous-ness of the people he portrays. Most importantly, we glimpse a deep, quiet, patient, inexhaustible compassion for humanity....
Gottlieb's paintings do not resemble those of any recognizable master, and yet he is most definitely an artist's artist. Indeed, the more one knows about the craft of painting, the more one appreciates his work. Hard and soft; lost and found; warm and cool; intimate and detached; unified and varied; lit and shadowed; hopeful and despairing; rhythmic and silent — it is all here, to the extent that Gottlieb makes it look easy to hold in balance all the contrary forces that define a human being, and this world."
------Daan Hoekstra (artist and regional editor for Fine Art Connoisseur)
Adrian Gottlieb is a figurative and portrait painter in the naturalist realist tradition. His broad fine arts education includes a degree in illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology, and training in painting at both Charles Cecil Studios, and The Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy.
Viewing Gottlieb's paintings in person, one is immediately struck by the painterly quality of his work. While he has expanded his themes, Gottlieb’s passion remains centered on figurative compositions. It is in this genre that Gottlieb excels--especially in infusing the two-dimensional surface with a luminous vitality; a palpable energy that is unique to his work.
It is for this reason that Adrian Gottlieb was commissioned to paint the portrait of V. Rev. Father John S. Bakas, in celebration of his 10th anniversary as Dean of St. Sophia's Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles. Adrian's unique sensitivity to the inner workings of his subjects allows him to communicate a deeply spiritual and paternal personality, while imparting a warmth and generosity of spirit rarely seen in the portraits of traditional religious figures. He later also painted movie producer and patron of the arts Michael Huffington which faces opposite Father Bakas in The Huffington Center at St. Sophia Cathedral.
Gottlieb painted the official portrait of Lord William Herbert, 18th Earl of Pembroke, 15th Earl of Montgomery in 2007. The following spring, he returned for the formal unveiling of his portrait of Lord Pembroke at Wilton House, the historic family seat near Salisbury which hosts the largest private collection of Van Dyke paintings and other masterpieces in the world. He also painted the official boardroom portrait of exiting CEO and Chairman of Nokia Corp., Mr. Jorma Ollila. Another portrait was painted of him for his private collection in his estate in Finland. In 2017 and 2018 he painted two portraits of Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. The first painting was the official portrait of Mr. Sandoval as Governor of Nevada, the second was the official portrait of Mr. Sandoval as the United States District Judge for the District of Nevada.
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 15th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
