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KISSMER Willi Kissmer was born in 1951 in Duisburg, Germany where he remains today as well as the South of France. Kissmer is known for technically exquisite etchings, oil and acrylic paintings that mostly depict nudes or half nudes, which are oftentimes draped in swaths of lush fabric. The details are accentuated in ultra-realistic texture using a combination of mezzotint, dry point and aquatint, which highlight the juxtaposition between flesh and cloth. Finding inspiration in his immediate surroundings, Kissmer’s model is usually his wife. Presented as a subject of eroticism and detailed study, he articulates our communal relationship with objects of desire. After his studies at the renowned Folkwang art school, Kissmer made a name for himself both as a musician and an artist. After numerous educational trips to Russia, Egypt, South America, Greece, Italy and Turkey he taught printmaking at the University of Duisburg. He has had numerous exhibitions in the United States and England. In his work, the artist prefers the torso. He consciously omits the representation of the head, abstains from individual facial features, and the rendition of hands, the gestures of which could impair the composition and thus the statement. The omission of individuality as well as psyche, the concentration on universal anonymity, and the emphasis on the body indicate Kissmer’s actual concern to deliver symbols of elementary human life, which find beautiful expression in the blooming female body. More information and available works: www.hohmannfineart.com HOHMANN 73-660 El Paseo | Palm Desert, CA 92260 | (760) 346-4243 | art@hohmannfineart.com BIOGRAPHY WILLI KISSMER Willi Kissmer’s etchings, which mostly depict nudes or half nudes, are oftentimes draped in swaths of lush fabric. The details of which are accentuated in ultra-realistic texture, crease and form brought forth through his signature techniques that combine mezzotint, dry point and aquatint. Beside these graphic prints, Kissmer produces technically exquisite paintings in oil or acrylic. Instead of working on a structured canvas, he paints on paper-mounted plywood. Its smooth surface permits the reproduction of the finest details highlighting the juxtaposition between flesh and cloth. As seen in both “Standing With Pink Top” and “Sitting Woman With Pink Top”, this contrast presents the beautiful body of a woman against the ensuing folds and wrinkles created in her top – a moment of friction as electric as the visage of the human form. Finding inspiration in his immediate surroundings, his model is usually his wife. Presented as a subject of eroticism and detailed study, he articulates our communal relationship with objects of desire.In his pictures, the artist prefers the torso. He consciously omits the representation of the head, abstains from individual facial features, and often also from the rendition of hands, the gestures of which could impair the composition and thus the statement. The omission of individuality as well as psyche, the concentration on universal anonymity, and the emphasis on the body indicate Kissmer’s actual concern, i.e. to deliver symbols of elementary human life, which find their most beautiful expression in the blooming female body. The artist employs combinations of etching, aquatint, drypoint and mezzotint techniques on his copperplates. A range of warm tones and the talent to bring an electrifying edge to his subject, in part, links Kissmer’s art to a long tradition of realism in northern European painting. Willi Kissmer’s expressive and exaggerated interpretation of detail is a trait that permeates the body of his art that has been described as sensual, provocative, technical and mysterious. His works are not conventionally pretty but compelling – confrontational. Willi Kissmer’s studio and residence is in an old industrial tower in southwest Germany. Although his trips have taken him all over Europe, Asia, and the United States, his subjects are always close at hand. “Everything comes out of my personal living environment. That is a result of my laziness. I look around enough to find something that is worth representing.” Consequently, his wife became his ultimate model. The foundation of Kissmer’s art is in his passion for the still life. These elements can include combinations of the female figure, everyday objects and residential architecture. HOHMANN www.hohmannfineart.com Kissmer is most interested in relating the qualities of light and its effects upon objects- especially the folds and creases of fabrics and drapery. In his new book it says: ‘...[Willi Kissmer] is much more interested in the partially clothed female than in the complete nude. The full nude for him is not demanding enough. For Kissmer it is the combination of flesh and fabric that form the core of his aesthetic...Within the fold of fabric the force of gravity becomes visible: a force at once real and imaginative, full of poetic possibility.’ Even though the nude female body has been subject for art for many hundreds of years, Willi Kissmer has been able to find his very own unique style that makes him so recognizable and has laid the foundation for his worldwide fame and success. SOLO EXHIBITIONS 1989 Allen Augustine Gallery, Lake Tahoe, USA Sterling Gallery, La Jolla, USA 1990 Amtsrichterhaus, Schwarzenbeck, Germany 1991 Interart Galerie Reich, Koeln, Germany, Tercera Gallery, Los Gatos, USA Galerie Malek, Bensheim, Germany 1992 Stadtwerke Duisburg, Germany Galerie Aviva, Essen, Germany Galerie Articles, Kevelaer, Germany Reid Galleries, Carmel, USA 1993 MRL, Long Beach, USA Johnson Art, San Luis Obispo, USA Nevada Institue for Contemporary Art (NICA), Las Vegas, USA 1995 Gallery No. 3, Isselburg Anholt, Germany Parkview Fine Paintings, Bristol, UK Ritterhof Gallery, Salzgitter, Germany Kunsthaus Ratingen, Germany 1996 Galerie Tabula, Tubingen, Germany Turmgalerie Bonn, Germany Kunsthandlung Moers, Germany Galerie Articles, Kevelaer, Germany 1997 Parkview Fine Paintings, Bristol, UK Ritterhof Gallery, Salzgitter, Germany Galerie No. 3, Isselburg Anholt, Germany John Bolxham Fine Art, London, UK 1998 Art Et Cetera, Staelen, Germany Galerie Fritz Geyer, Plauen, Germany Galerie Schoenhof, Jade, Germany Ritterhof Gallery, Salzgitter, Germany Galerie Aspectus, Neustadt a.d.w., Germany 1999 GalerieHermann, Neumarkt i.d.Opf, Germany Parkview Fine Paintings, Bristol, UK Galerie Helga Wicher, Wuppertal, Germany Galerie No. 3, Bocholt, Germany HOHMANN www.hohmannfineart.com 1999 2000 2004 2005 2006 Galerie Aurika, Frankfurt, Germany John Bolxham Fine Art, London, UK Galerie No. 3, Essen, Germany Galerie Conrad, Bonn, Germany Kleine Weltlaterne, Berlin, Germany Galerie Odermatt and Spatz, Schiffersstadt Germany Turmgalerie, Bonn, Germany Art Et Cetera, Staelen, Germany Hart Gallery, Carmel, California Hart Gallery, Palm Desert,California Hart Gallery, Palm Desert, California SELECTED COLLECTIONS 1988 Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany 1989 Galerie 4, Arlesheim, Switzerland 1990 City Gallery, Portsmouth, Great Britain Marietta/Cobb Museum, Marietta, USA 1991 Kontakte II”, Duisburg, Germany; Moskau/Leningrad, USSR “Erotic Art”, Galerie Tabula, Tuebingen 1992 International Graphics Trienale, Frechen,German 1993 Art Multiple, Dusseldorf, Germany 1994 Galerie Marijke Raalmakers, Grubbenvorst,Netherlands Line Art, Gent, Belgium Art Multiple, Dusseldorf, Germany 1995 Art Stockholm, Sweden Art Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Art Multiple, Dusseldorf, Germany Art Expo, New York, USA 1996 Lehmbruck Museum, Duisberg Germany Cubus Kunsthalle, Duisburg, Germany Internationale Grafik Triennale, Frechen,Germany Art Multiple, Dusseldorf, Germany Art Expo, New York, USA 1997 Art Expo, New York, USA Art Multiple, Dusseldorf, Germany Saga, Paris, France 1998 Art Expo, New York, USA Galerie Marijke Raalmakers, Grubenworst,Netherlands PAN, Amsterdam, Netherlands Kunsthaus Veith, Pirmasens, Germany Art Multiple, Dusseldorf, Germany Galerie No. 3, Essen, Germany Art Expo, Los Angeles, California, USA 1999 Art Expo, New York, USA Art Multiple, Dusseldorf, Germany HOHMANN www.hohmannfineart.com PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Kaestner Gesellschaft, Germany Aldegrever Gesellschaft, Germany Helen Chrysler Green, New York, USA Mark& Sandra Tratos, Las Vegas, USA Kate Cuddy Gielen, London, Ontario, Canada PRINTING TECHNIQUES All my print graphics work since 1980 has used the etching technique. Originally the name referred only to dry point etching. but today every manual form of copper plate printing is referred to as an etching. Dry point etching is the original, manual form of Intaglio, a technique by which the image is engraved into the surface of a hard metal plate. In the printing process these indentations are filled with ink, which is transferred under high pressure onto paper that has been softened by moistening with water. The material from which the plates are made is usually 1-2mm thick polished copper, but zinc, steel, brass and plexiglass are also used. In my work I use different etching techniques in combination, described as follows. Line etching (etching, Eau-Forte) is the oldest of all techniques. After the plate has been covered with a thin acid-proof layer, the drawing is scraped with a needle so that the metal is exposed through the lines. After covering the back, the plate is placed in an acid bath which deepens the lines proportional to the etching time and acid strength. -October 1999 Willi Kissmer HOHMANN www.hohmannfineart.com
