Willi Kissmer was born in Duisburg, Germany in 1951. Multi-talented as a teenager Willi was undecided whether to dedicate himself to the Visual Arts or to Music. He studied at the Folkwangscule, University of Essen and later taught printmaking at the University of Duisburg, Germany. Still life and an obsession with the qualities of light and its effect upon objects within them is the subject of Willi Kissmer's art. A disquieting sense of heightened observation, limited palette, and simplicity create moving works that are not conventionally pretty, but compelling and somewhat confrontational. The interchange of folds, creases, and texture of draped fabric for example, have the effect of transforming a commonplace subject into something extraordinary. The artist maintains that this surreal quality is not intentional. He says, " Clothes and fabrics emanate calmness, they have something meditative".