Willi Kissmer

The flimsy piece of silk, clinging to a female body, is typical for Willi Kissmer.

It is typical that the head is hardly visible, the limbs only partly, the body and its highly plastic veil stand out from the background. It is not by chance that one associates it with classical sculptures which one finds nowadays, torn from their historic context, having survived only as a torso through the millennia. Beauty and vulnerability of the human body have always been the topics of painters and sculptures. Kissmer‘ s prints celebrate the female body and through his fascination with the transparent cover-up, this theme is rooted in 19^th century art between „belle époque“ and „fin du siècle“.

Will Kissmer was born in Duisburg in 1951 and he studied free graphic art at the renowned Folkwangschule in Essen. In 1980 he decided for good to give up his career as rock musician and devote his time to the fine arts exclusively. Study trips let him through the whole Mediterranean and to South America.

But Asian art had the longest-lasting effect on his work. Its reserve on composition and high spirituality , the highly disciplined and effective artistic means determine the aesthetics of his work. An enthusiastic American art historian described his sensations when looking at this technically demanding etchings: „You do not only see them, but you can touch them with your eyes.“

In 1998 Willi Kissmer bought the historic tower of Homberg. here he arranged his living quarters and studio on the different levels. His works are shown world-wide in group and single exhibitions.

Publication of Finest 2/01 - author Susanne Müller