JOHN WISSEMANN (AM. 1925 – 2022) had a long career as painter, printmaker, and teacher of art. He has shown widely in New York City, California, and Maine, where exhibits include Gold/Smith Gallery in Boothbay Harbor, Leighton Gallery in Blue Hill, Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport, and Roundtop Center for the Arts in Damariscotta. His solo show at the Caldbeck in 1988 presented his beginnings with the technique of “Pochoir,” which involves the use of stencils.
“In the 1990’s, our Cushing neighbor, Leslie Land, invited me to come and draw in her garden; an exuberant, lush swath of much-loved plants tucked into the hillside field beside her house. Every plant and flower had a history and a purpose, each striking in its own way, yet lending depth to the overall experience of the garden.” – John Wissemann on his work in his 2021 HEAVEN AND EARTH exhibition.
John Wissemann’s 2001 exhibition at the Farnsworth Museum caused a sensation; Philip Isaacson wrote for the Maine Sunday Telegram, “The figures are taken from classic Japanese woodblock prints and transferred to stencils and, through them, to paper. A given figure in various guises may appear in several works. It may, perhaps, be culturally anticipated, but its supporting background will be a tumultuous achievement in innovation. Wissemann draws broadly from both the contemporary abstraction and ethnic design sources and assimilates them into an embrace for the Japanese figures. This alone is a remarkable exercise in sophistication, but when charged with the artist’s facility with color, the effect in the gallery is incendiary.”