“In all the works there is a thread, I think, that ties them together. Beyond the mere emphasis on space, that is. Even though I seldom use the figure of man, it is man which is my theme: his loneliness, his innocence in the hands of God, his numbers overwhelming the earth.”
- Gerhardt Liebmann
Gerhardt Liebmann was born in Downey, California, in 1928, and was an artist, architect, photographer, pilot, explorer, mountaineer, and activist. He died on 1 October 1989 from AIDS.
Liebmann moved to Soho in 1968, purchasing a loft at 451 West Broadway. He quickly became active in the SoHo Artists Association serving as its first president. He painted many series of works, each reflective of his journey in exploring subjects related to his environment.
Liebmann was diagnosed with AIDS in 1983 and was one of the first recipients of the then-experimental drug AZT.
Gerhardt Liebmann had solo exhibitions at Eleanor Ward's Stable Gallery (1969/1970); in Dubai, The United Arab Emirates (1976); Brooks Jackson Gallery Iolas, New York (1978); Alexander Carlson Gallery, New York (1981); and Gallery: Gertrude Stein (posthumous, 1997). Liebmann has been included in group shows at the National Academy of Design (1965), The Smithsonian Institute (1965-66), Indianapolis Museum of Art (1969), O.K. Harris Gallery, New York (1971), Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, NY (1971), Boston Museum of Fine Arts (1971), Bronx Museum of the Arts (1980), and the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC (1983).
Gerhardt Liebmann's work is reflected in the collections of the Leslie-Lohman Museum (New York, NY); Art Institute (Flint, MI); Province of Alberta Museum of Art (Edmonton, Canada); The Vatican Museum (Rome, Italy); and the Wellington-Ivest Collection (Boston, MA).