5 Positions1970s, acrylic and aerosol paint on canvas, 48 x 42", framed Collection Barbara & Janet Liles
1970s Ballet As social issues become less tumultuous, Liles leaves protest behind and turns his attention to the art of dance. During this period Liles produces a series of paintings centered on the New York City Ballet, its principal dancers, and major works of choreographer George Balanchine. Inspired by his new found love of the ballet, his work combines figurative images and large flat fields of color to render dancers in static poses. The resist shapes fill the dancers bodies, echoing back to the mechanical cubist forms used by Fernand Leger, Liles' teacher in Paris 20 years earlier. Working on a smaller scale, Liles applies transparent colored acetate overlays as collage over simple drawings. In these collages, Liles balances his expressive figurative drawing with pure luminous color. "Although completely two-dimensional, the dancers, as in "Pas-de-Deux," convey expressive bodily movement through space, the essence of ballet." Ted Weeks The Birmingham News, Feb 11, 1973
As social issues become less tumultuous, Liles leaves protest behind and turns his attention to the art of dance. During this period Liles produces a series of paintings centered on the New York City Ballet, its principal dancers, and major works of choreographer George Balanchine. Inspired by his new found love of the ballet, his work combines figurative images and large flat fields of color to render dancers in static poses. The resist shapes fill the dancers bodies, echoing back to the mechanical cubist forms used by Fernand Leger, Liles' teacher in Paris 20 years earlier. Working on a smaller scale, Liles applies transparent colored acetate overlays as collage over simple drawings. In these collages, Liles balances his expressive figurative drawing with pure luminous color. "Although completely two-dimensional, the dancers, as in "Pas-de-Deux," convey expressive bodily movement through space, the essence of ballet." Ted Weeks The Birmingham News, Feb 11, 1973
