At first glance Helge Leiberg’s elongated figures with their thin bodies and big hands seem to remain motionless in their places, but with intent observation movement suddenly comes into play: the words that spring to mind include swinging, strutting, gyrating and dancing. It is a kind of expressive dance that mirrors the soul, revealing emotions such as excitement and passion, affection and disgust. As a rule the artist forms his figures spontaneously, without preparatory drawings, just like the impressionist “painter-sculptors” Renoir and Degas before him.
Helge Leiberg has incorporated dance into his performances on an equal footing with painting and music, and his works as a draftsman and artist’s books are also characterised by many variations of dance. In his sculptures – all collected for the first time in this publication – he succeeds in condensing these many forms of expression into moments of tremendous tension and concentration.
With contribution by Christiane Bühling, Jürgen Schilling.