Painter Isaac Pelepko’s work embodies the sensuality of neoclassical paintings with a contemporary interpretation, and his latest exhibit of figure drawings at Lebanon Picture Frame and Fine Art Gallery will be no exception. Influenced by comic book art and graced with the technical virtuosity of the European masters, Pelepko’s technical brilliance will be on view for the month of April at Lebanon Picture Frame and Fine Art Gallery.
Pelepko is currently based in Lebanon. His body of work is almost exclusively focused on the figure, rendered in a mix of acrylics, oils and drawings. Pelepko does not remember visiting art museums as a child, even though his mother had a sizable collection of art books full of old masters, the images of which he found quite scary. Pelepko was interested primarily in comic book art, and his path towards a focus in fine art began with a single encounter: At age twenty he saw The Princesse de Broglie by the 19th C. French artist Ingres at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and felt very emotionally moved by the painting. Since then, when he considers his approach in painting or drawing, he thinks of what an image looks like in person. Nonetheless, Pelepko still continues to be inspired by comic book art and video games, particularly by comic book artist Jim Lee and his Twitch and YouTube channels.
Pelepko obtained his BFA at the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, where he was able to experiment and find his voice as an artist. Subsequently, Pelepko furthered his technical studies in New York at the Art Students League, Grand Central Academy, and was awarded with an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. His works have been exhibited in numerous galleries and shows, most recently as a part of the Art of the State 2018 at the State Museum of Pennsylvania, and in a solo exhibition at the Suzanne H. Arnold Gallery at Lebanon Valley College.