The Art of Wisdom
In this refreshingly entertaining book, The Art of Wisdom, artist and writer, George Kleiber, serves us 24 bite sized chapters full of moments of pure joy, pieces of heart, pieces of soul and small pieces of his personal life.
The stories are both serious, inspiring, enlightening, hilarious, disturbing and mysterious with a glimpse of sage wisdom and an occasional swear world.
"Through the perfect pairing of painting and words, the author offers participants in the journey the benefit of a life lived. That life is simply one filled with passion and pain, but above all else, love of family and love of self."
​
~Josephine Balamonte Capraro
D.C. Professional Writer, Evolving Buddha - Washington D.C.
"This amazing book that George has created is a rich depository of critical visual and thinking matter that, when open and read often, will always inspire creativity and provide insight to our life's journey on this planet. I will use this book as a shot of adrenaline for creative and spiritual mind set as one would use a holy book"
​
~Robert Brengman
Winemaker and Artist - Traverse City, Michigan
"The vibrant colors draw you in first - the blood reds and saffron golds, the rivers of indigo and emerald green, followed by rich earth tones (chestnut, loam, and otter-brown) and inky blacks (bear claw, raven wing, forest night). Look closer, as a dreamscape opens up and you fly, like a Midwestern Chagall, over fields and small towns. Girls dance. Trees hide secrets. Totemic animals fix you in their gaze.
In these slipstream paintings, inner and outer realities mix and mingle, and operate on the soul like medicine. As a gifted cardiologist and intensive care specialist, George Kleiber is familiar with the borderlands between life and death. Like many who have lingered there, he has message for us: live. Live spontaneously and unashamedly. Live with open hearts and peaceful minds. Cherish your life force and be ruthless with whatever saps it. In his visceral paintings, George shows us what that freedom looks and feels like. Coupled with stories and meditations in this book, it's a powerful tonic.
Think of it as a prescription from a guy who knows how to heal your heart - literally and metaphorically."
​
~Anne Strainchamps
Co-founder and host of To Best Of Our Knowledge,
NPR/WPR National Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Radio
"This book by George Kleiber, who is both an artist and a physician, is a wonderful look at life through the eyes of a man who has seen so much of it - with all of its hues and colors. It is well know that medicine has a long recognized that human beings experience and connect with the world around them through the five recognized senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Through his beautiful and skillful painting and his deeply insightful thinking, Kleiber demonstrates that, in reality, there very well may be a sixth sense - the sense of art. Like the other senses, art provides humans with a unique capacity to more completely experience life and to better enjoy the journey of living. It becomes obvious from reading Kleiber's commentary and viewing his paintings, that his sense of art and his skill as an artist have clearly enabled him to more meaningfully appreciate his own life. Moreover, his book subtlety teaches that if we can learn to more fully embrace art, perhaps we can learn to more gently embrace ourselves."
​
~George Sinas
Attorney, Author, MSU College of Law Adjunct Professor - Scottsdale, Arizona
"A great read! The writing is excellent and the wisdom is sublime."
​
~Anne Stanton
National Writers Series Executive Director - Traverse City, Michigan
"The book is epic in scope, and I can't think of anything to compare it to, which in my opinion is a sign of excellence. Few visual artist can write, in fact lot of writers can't write either, so there's a vast lacuna occupying the space that should be analyzing the mysterious world where ideas are translated into images. Through I think there will always be a mystery at the heart of it."
​
~Robert Schultheis
Author, Journalist and Adventurer - Telluride, Colorado
"Your book is GORGEOUS! I'm a harsh critique...you did GOOD!
Thank you for the acknowledgement. I can't wait to share this book with friends...
Rx: Turn the page and immerse yourself in a beautiful bouquet of art and words. B R E A T H E. Repeat."
​
~Sandy Popovich
Graphic Designer. Musician. Happy Human. - Sonoma, California
"I have known George for several decades, seen some of his paintings, heard and even participated in some of his adventures, understand his life philosophy. So when his book arrived in the mail I was not surprised at my first take - gorgeous! But this book goes beyond. Page after page of paintings that are alive and truthful, prose that is thought provoking, meaningful and inspirational quotes from others. A celebration of life.
But make no mistake - he is not one to dabble superficially. I could cut out any page in the book and hang the picture on my wall. His work is that great. Art requires the artist and a viewer. He has done his part. Trust me: the viewer has no choice but to be drawn in to his world, his search for truth. His book is an affirmation of existence."
​
~Richard Gaston
Personal friend of George Klieber
I asked my daughter-in-law, a writer and observer in her own right, for her thoughts on my accumulated philosophies, she offered this poem as a contribution.
​
At the end of the world,
You'll want someone with two cultures around,
Fluent in the left and right brains
Art and Science,
Painting and anatomy,
Music and math
​
Because they know how to sew. A wound
And make you laugh
They will notice the diffusion of light
And when to plant trees
​
They are cultural translators
And they travel in both realms
These human do exist, though rare
​
Fellini said "the pearl is
The oyster's autobiography"
And that oyster created something
From the earth
That is luminous and shiny and
Still gritty from undersea.
​
~Shannon Henry Kleiber
Writer and Radio Producer - Madison, Wisconsin
George Kleiber
george@georgekleiberart.com
517.388.3879