Donald Lipski For Adolescents

A native of Chicago, Donald Lipski attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He then earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in ceramics from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. He now lives in New York. Lipski is best known for his elaborate arrangements of ordinary found objects on white walls of galleries. The objects he uses for these pieces usually appear to have little or nothing in common, but often the juxtaposition of objects can imply meanings. For instance, in Med-i-vac, Lipski covered a medical rescue device with razor blades. The juxtaposition of an object intended to heal with objects intended to harm, creates contrast and irony.

Lipski often uses repetition of identical items in his work. Here, he used silicone adhesive to attach pennies to the surface of two steel buoys found in a Seattle junkyard. Many art historians consider Lipski to be a conceptual artist. In other words, he is trying to express ideas in his work. However, Lipski’s art is also visually stunning. As he says of his own public work: “I try to make something seductive, that immediately pulls you in and makes you take notice; and at the same time, I want to make something that, if you’re seeing it daily year after year, has the capacity to grow and develop new meanings.”