Leon Golub

1922 - 2004 Leon Golub, a seminal American painter associated with the figurative movement and Chicago’s Monster Roster, explored through his work themes of violence and corruption, often precipitated by political movements such as the Vietnam War or the rise of the South American paramilitary. Drawing upon ancient Greek and Roman sculpture, Golub set his human figures against huge, unstretched canvases, hacking at paint with a meat cleaver until his painting achieved the rough-hewn, nightmarish quality that would become his signature. In his later years, Golub explored the possibilities of composition fragmentation and incorporation of text, which served to heighten the discordant nature of his work. Although the artist experimented with lithographs and smaller drawings, it is for his large-scale paintings—grotesque, surreal, imbued with an almost unbearable intensity—that he is remembered today.