 JACK CHIPMAN…
My “rippings” series began in San Francisco in the 1970s soon after graduation from Cal-Arts. At that time artist friend Lynn Hershman, writing for ARTWEEK, dubbed me “Jack the Ripper.” The paintings were called rippings because they consisted of ripped strips of canvas dyed subtle colors that were hung from horizontal supports at a level where the ends spilled out onto the floor. The ones that were wrapped around bamboo poles were likened to ritual or fetish objects.
In the 90s, after returning to my native Los Angeles, I began to revisit the inspiration that distinguished my work of the 70s, although I altered the look by ripping and reassembling completed paintings. I tend to work intuitively and am often surprised at the outcome of the work. I suppose all artists are guided or at least inspired in some way by forces unknown to them.
My latest series is called “Afterlife.” These new acrylic paintings merge hard-edge elements with fluid color fields and are generally not ripped. The title satirically refers to the pronouncement of painting’s demise by critics and to my personal belief in a next (better) world located somewhere in the great unexplored cosmos. I currently reside in Venice and feel my work fits nicely in the ever evolving abstract tradition that includes other Venice artists including my favorite LA artist, Ed Moses.
For a more complete biography, click here.
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