Kevin Chupik
- Missy Stephenson
- Nov 22, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 25, 2024
Kevin Chopin was born in Texas and has lived in Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada, the American southwest influencing his artwork.
His paintings are always done with acrylic on birch wood panels, and focuses on western themes in a style that’s a mix of surrealist and pop art.
He has a Masters in Painting and Drawing from The University of Colorado at Boulder, a BFA from Texas Christian University, and temporarily taught at the College of Southern Nevada.
I think this piece captures the feel that most of Chupik’s art has. Not just because there’s a cowboy (a very common theme for him), but the juxtaposition of vintage and contemporary, as well as the western setting, are the foundation of most of his work. That is shown here by an old-fashioned cowboy staring into a vibrant blue pool by a modern-looking hotel.
He said in an interview, “I want to be able to grab the viewer and provoke them to want to know more about it.” Surrealist art usually makes people pose questions due to its unusual nature, and his is no different—why is there a cowboy standing on a diving board? What is he pondering (there’s a sense the subject is deep in thought)?
Oftentimes Chupik’s work is slightly reminiscent of pop art, particularly the vivid coloring and retro aspects of it. I thought his piece Bone Collector is the best example of this. The landscape is so saturated it’s almost coral-pink, and a vintage car is at the center, its light blue contrasting the desert. Though nobody is inside, an elk skull is perched on its roof.
Chupik has also said he incorporates subtle humor into his art, as shown in his piece A Hot Night in Wyoming. I like this one in particular because on the surface, it seems just as surrealist as some of his other works; a wild animal is juxtaposed next to a gas station or convenience store of some sort. Yet the title provides some more context, and the viewer can infer this bison is probably sweltering from the heat and considering breaking into this icebox.
Even when it’s not as straightforward and specific as this, I think a lot of his art, when a living subject is depicted, conveys a sense of longing.
