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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.

 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.

Biography

Solo Exhibitions