kevin chupik
midnight in texas
The genesis of Kevin Chupik’s Pop Western art.
the making of a cowboy
Kevin Chupik’s funky style stems from his roots- he was born in Ft Worth, Texas, where many say the West began. His education of the West was as organic as you might imagine- it surrounded him throughout his youth. When he was 9-years-old he moved to Tuscon, Arizona, where his affinity for the desert and the Southwest was shaped. “The interests I had as a kid were wholesome westerns, and spending time outside and hunting,” Kevin said. “Western influence has been part of my aesthetic since I’ve been ten years old.”
He pursued an undergraduate and graduate degree in fine arts- the first at Texas Christian University, the latter at University of Colorado Boulder. He recalls that what began as a choice of study (art) became a career- although he candidly never saw himself having a desk job. His appreciation for the outdoors catapulted in Colorado, where he passed time exploring and hiking National Parks with friends, mountain biking and “living a whole lifetime in that time,” he recalls.
“A love for the west was central to my upbringing- its people, places, landscapes and iconography.”
He recently returned to his home state of Texas with his wife and daughter, residing just outside his hometown of Fort Worth in Aledo, TX.
Throughout the 1990’s, Kevin roamed the West from Utah to Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. He worked as a mountain bike guide along the Grand Canyon, drawing inspiration from nature and history. He spent a very influential summer in Santa Fe in 1991 with a group of painters, geologists, photographers and anthropologists. “We spent time in Chaco canyon, ghost ranch (where Georgia O’Keeffe painted) and it rekindled my love for the high desert,” Kevin recalls. Because of this, his undergraduate work and subsequent graduate work was heavily focused on the American Southwest, setting the backdrop for a contemporary narrative that he weaved throughout his work.
Kevin’s life has mirrored the unpredictability of Western life in more ways than one. In 1997, Kevin fell off a 35 ft cliff along the Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon while leading a group tour. He miraculously survived, although life has looked a little different since then- the accident left him in a wheelchair.
“My work is a way of armchair traveling”, Kevin explains. This outlook resonates with many wanderlust stricken individuals limited in travel due to covid, but also is true to how he experiences the world post-accident.
“I did attend the Monaco Grand Prix in 2010 (formula one racing event) and was invited to sit in Prince Albert’s royal box because of my disability,” Kevin recalls. To be clear, his condition hasn’t stopped him from experiencing the world- he had never traveled to Europe before his accident occurred, and planned to visit one of his favorite spots Santa Fe, New Mexico before covid travel restrictions set in.
an ode to the west
Kevin’s inspiration is never too far away- whether it’s right outside his window or the backdrop of his art studio. His ‘inspiration wall’ condenses many of his strongest influences from Western travel to 1930’s art posters to vintage souvenirs. This is where he produces his work, showing in galleries like MiXX Atlier in Telluride, Colorado, or chipping away at special commissioned pieces for lucky customers.
“I’m making imagery that celebrates the spectacle, bravado and drama of a good western premise or narrative”
“To throw a stripe in there is to step across that line in a pop way.”
‘‘It’s like going back in time every time I make a piece”
Kevin is very aware of his cinematic influence, as well as the formative decades of history. “Midnight in Paris- that’s me,” Kevin says, referring to the popular film that features Owen Wilson going back in time to 1920’s Paris each night at Midnight, visiting with iconic artists of the past.
Illustrations, movie posters, western comics, Roy Rogers, Tom Mix, Gene Autry, Buffalo Bill, a Route 66 notion. “I love it all”, Kevin admits.