Willi Kissmer

Willi Kissmer was born in Duisburg, Germany in 1951. He is a multitalented artist, also an accomplished guitarist who has recorded several albums to date. A young contemporary master of copper plate etching Mr. Kissmer's art has been exhibited in California and New York but is not as well known in North America as he is in South America, Europe, Russia, and Asia.

Kissmer employs combinations of etching, aquatint, drypoint and mezzotint techniques on his copperplates. Still Life and an obsession with the qualities of light on fabric, the female torso and interiors create a sense of heightened observation. His interchange of folds, creases and texture of draped fabrics, for example, have the effect of transforming a commonplace subject into something extraordinary. His female torsos, without the identifying qualities of heads and limbs, remind one of greek sculpture.

Kissmer studied at the Folkwangscule, University of Essen, and later taught printmaking at the University of Duisburg, Germany. His copperplate etchings, often using three plates, are unusual in their complexity and difficulty. He has an avid following in Europe and is rapidly being discovered in the United States. Although his work is only available in a limited number of galleries in the states.