ART LIFE

Self Portrait at age 39
“People say I don’t look like an artist,” Kappmeier states. As Jim Beckerman of The Record (Bergen) noted, the burly 40-year old Kappmeier, “resembles a bouncer at a waterfront dive more than a native post impressionist.” But Kappmeier then asks, “But what does an artist look like?” What the viewer sees here is an artist who is not afraid of being direct, honest and unvarnished. His debt to post-Impressionist Van Gogh is evident in his use of the similar color palette, unsparing directness, bold brush strokes and charged energy found in the Van Gogh’s own self portrait. And, lest there be any doubt about Kappmeier’s artistic allegiance, he does have that famous Van Gogh self portrait tattooed on one arm. Freely acknowledging the influence, Kappmeier explains, ”I would say Van Gogh is my biggest influence…I try to give it [painting] the feeling that Van Gogh gets. I can appreciate a Da Vinci, but it just doesn’t have the feeling that Van Gogh has.”
And his works certainly exude life and feeling. A plein air painter of street scenes, boardwalks, parks, gardens, beaches, cemeteries, parklands and still life, Chris Kappmeier produces canvasses bursting with bold colors, raw energy, immediacy and emotion. Fascinated by the physicality of painting, Kappmeier explains, “I love the feel of the brush to canvas, pencil to paper, the smell of the paints and linseed oil… All of my landscapes are done in ‘open air.’ I don’t think you can paint a cold winter scene or hot summer day without being in it. I like the smell of the snow, grass or rain and I paint it. My art is about the feeling of the moment and not done from pictures. In this way I am part of all my paintings.”
That physicality is evident in the power and motion of streetscapes such as Hoboken Taxi Stand III; Hot Dog Truck – Hoboken, NJ; Hoboken Telephone Poles and Hoboken-The Stenick Trust Co. 4th & Grand . Kappmeier’s cars crowd, push and shove one another in riotous confusion where streets, buildings and telephone poles bend or swell to compete for space and attention. There’s real life in those urban streets and this artist embraces it with relish. “I like clutter,” he says. “You can see all the wires, that’s almost become a trademark for me….I say if it’s there, put it in. that’s what makes it feel like a city.”

Hoboken Taxi Stand III Hot Dog Truck – Hoboken, NJ

Hoboken Telephone Poles Hoboken-The Stenick Trust Co. 4th & Grand
As a Jim Beckerman, writer for The Record (Bergen) stated in a Dec. 2006 article, “In recent years, he seems to have found a niche with his Van Gogh-esque views of cities in all their seedy glory. Massed telephone wires, abandoned railroad tracks, road signs and other unsightly details are all part of the mystique.”
Beyond the attractions of the busy, cluttered urban landscape, Kappmeier brings his insightful eye to genres such as portraiture. Boy in Baseball Hat II; Brother in a Bandanna; Hippie Guy, Farmer; Girl with a Turban; Spanish Woma and Laverne with Overalls display the artist’s sensitivity not only to the inner life of his subjects but to the wide social spectrum from which he draws.
The vulnerability and hopefulness of youth resonate in Boy in Baseball Hat II, while Brother in Bandanna exudes a more adult assurance, tinged with street smarts and cynicism. The closed, meditative and obviously private thoughts of the Hippie Guy nevertheless pay homage to the frilled, “flower power” scene of the 60s.

Boy in Baseball Hat II Brother in Bandanna Hippie Guy
The Girl with a Turban, with her downcast eyes, maintains a sense of demure mystery while a fierce and proud heritage marks the face of Spanish Woman. One senses that whether in overalls or formal gown, Laverne with Overalls is serenely confident in her femininity.

Girl with a Turban Spanish Woman Laverne with Overalls
Kappmeier irresistibly draws his viewers into his exquisitely rendered domestic scenes which embrace the vibrant yellows and blues so indelibly associated with Van Gogh. Who could resist the sense of snug comfort in the Winter Window or the Artist’s Living Room

The Winter Window The Artist’s Living Room
or fail to be intrigued by the edgy quality of London Emma’s Window or the play of light, transparency and line in Kitchen Window?

London Emma’s Window Kitchen Window
Clearly, Kappmeier finds subject matter everywhere he looks, bringing the same vigor and energy to paintings of cemeteries, bridges, churches and of the “natural” world. The use of black outlines, unfiltered basic colors (blues, reds, yellows and greens) and the richly textured, thick application of oil to canvas make works such as Cemetery, Newark Cathedral Doorway, Bogota Bridge, Cherry Blossom with White Dogwood, Great Swamp-Fall, Point Pleasant – Leaving the Beach, Winter Bike Rack and Unsafe Bridge pulse with life.

Cemetery Newark Cathedral Doorway Bogota Bridge

Cherry Blossom with White Dogwood Great Swamp - Fall

Point Pleasant Leaving the Beach Winter Bike Rack Unsafe Bridge
Kappmeier also pays tribute to his apprenticeship in Siracusa, Italy, conveying that sundrenched and color-saturated Italian landscape in works such as Siracusa Boatyard – Italy; and Streets of Siracusa.

Siracusa Boat Yard – Italy Streets of Siracusa
And, even his most recently developed genre, still life paintings of cut flowers, displays Kappmeier’s immediacy and spontaneity. “My art is about the feeling of the moment,” he states. The still life, in Kappmeier’s vision, is hardly still. Always working from the actual scene and never from a photograph, the artist shuns equilibrium in favor of a sense of life and motion achieved through his the bold, layered brushwork, dramatic colors, play of light and textures and his "off balance" placement of the subject within the frame. Works such as Spiked Daisies, Mixed Flowers with Dying Sunflower, Week Old Daisies in Glass Vase and Yellow Roses in Iron and Glass Vase, once again clearly evoke the charged energy of Van Gogh (Sunflowers, Starry Night , among others). Perhaps in Kappmeier, New Jersey has found its own Van Gogh.

Spiked Daisies Mixed Flowers with Dying Sunflower

Week Old Daisies in Glass Vase Yellow Tulips in Glass and Iron Vase
Born in North Bergen and raised in Maywood, NJ, Kappmeier has been drawing or painting in one form or another for as far back as he can remember. He is a Fine Art graduate of The Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art, where his passion for open-air painting was sparked. Having studied figure drawing with Peter Schneck and apprenticed in Siracusa, Italy (with Professor James McGinley, Kappmeier also studied stone and wood sculpture with Leonard Agronski at the Northern New Jersey Center for the Arts. After post-graduate courses, Kappmeier traveled through Italy and England painting whatever inspired him along the way. Kappmeier has also worked as a silkscreen and gold leaf printer. With solo exhibitions in NJ and New York, Kappmeier’s works have been featured at major libraries, juried art shows, galleries and festivals throughout New Jersey and New York. He is a member of the Morris County Artists Association, the Easton Artists Association and the Hudson Artists of NJ Association.
Currently, Kappemeier's works are on exhibit during business hours at the Arts Council offices (163 Madison Ave., 5th Floor, Morristown) until midsummer.
Chris' works will also be on exhibit From JUNE 1-June 20, 2007 in a one man show entitled "Chris Kappmeier: PLEIN-AIR New Jersey" at the EZAIR GALLERY, 905 Madison Ave., between 72nd and 73rd St., NY, NY 10021 (212) 628-2224. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, June 7, 2007 from 6-8pm. Gallery Hours are Tuesday-Friday noon-6pm. www.ezairgallery.com.
Chris Kappmeier resides in Lyndhurst, NJ and can be reached by phone at (201) 460-1599 or via email at Chriskappmeier@yahoo.com.