 When
the child was 8 years old he entered a painting contest in a Mexico
City children’s magazine published by Editorial Planeta. He
painted a picture of a boat, which won the contest and was printed
in the magazine. The child later visited Chicago where he was exposed
to the art of Monet, Van Gogh, Matisse and he had the opportunity
of seeing an entire exhibition of Renoir, which had a tremendous
impact on him. As the child grew, he moved to Berkley in San Francisco,
California, where he continued to paint. He later traveled to Cuba,
where he was exposed to even more varied types of music and rhythms.
It was during this period of his life that the child’s interest
in art and music was truly awakened and he realized it was more
than just a passing hobby. He soon began to merge the two disciplines
as he developed into a self-taught artist and musician. The boy
eventually settled in San Miguel, where he met his new friends and
fellow artists Cielo, Paul Gutierrez and Javier Garcia who inspired
him even further.
The boy eventually grew into the man we all know today as The Chi
Man, Chi Kaplan. Chi opened the OM Studio Galleria exactly one year
ago, where he installed his own paintings and his mother’s
fine crafted jewelry. In addition to his own work, Chi has showcased
other artists from San Miguel such as Bonnie Griffith, Gabriel Serafin
and Paulinski. As well as artists from around the world, such as
Cathy Chalvinac from France, Deborah Fair from Hawaii, Peter Menzies
from South Africa and Mitchell Caton from Chicago. Chi often features
live music during the gallery openings, and the local musicians
who have contributed their sound to his shows include Ken Bassman
(guitar), Tyler Mitchell (bass), Rodney (guitar), Reena (vocals),
Chi’s father Bobby Kaplan (vocals/drums) and of course Chi
(bongos) and his band, Los Golfos del Son.
 These
days, most of Chi’s inspiration comes from the sea. He just
recently came back from a trip to Oaxaca with his girlfriend Meagan,
where he has acquired some land and plans to one day build a resort.
“Now that I got back, my paintings have become more spontaneous,
with lots of music in them, wild colors happening, lots of crazy
strokes, more of a clean way of painting.” Chi admires the
balance and juxtaposition of the desert (San Miguel) to the ocean
(Oaxaca) and uses painting and music as mediums to express “the
colors of life, the magic.”
Chi’s new work certainly seems more vibrant than his previous
efforts. And for anyone that knows Chi’s work, that’s
saying a lot. While Chi’s thick, bright, primary color painting
style has not diminished, his paintings are no longer as loud or
ostentatious as they once were. But I still joke with Chi that no
one could possibly confuse the work for anything other than a Chi
Kaplan original. Probably because you can’t miss the three
huge letters “CHI” scrawled in a child’s penmanship
over most of his works in bright red along with a variety of interesting
messages and phrases, such as “In God We Trust” and
“Pay to the Order of CHI”.
Perhaps it’s a sign of maturity, but his latest paintings
have become a little subtler, less cluttered and more direct, and
the change is working to his benefit. He is no longer the invisible
artist screaming for attention in the corner of a busy room. He’s
learning to let his paintings speak discreetly for themselves. He
says it’s “the sound of the universe – OM. The
sound of music all combined with colors and life. Actually, we’re
celebrating life and love.”
And Chi is all about change and moving forward these days.
“As a matter of fact today, Meagan and I, we burned most of
my old collection of paintings today at the ranch in a bonfire,”
declares Chi proudly.
“You did what?” I interrupt.
“Yeah, she’s inspired me to start all over new again.
Forget about the old, dirty kind of looking paintings and darky
style. Let the past disappear. We burned it. I still have the ashes.”
I joke with Chi that when he is dead and famous, this will be looked
upon as one of the great tragic sequences of his career.
I ask Chi for his perspective as a gallery owner in San Miguel:
“It can be hard getting into galleries. I walked around town
for five years with people telling me ‘come back in two years.’
But I also sold paintings during that time at places like El Recreo,
Le Petit and the Angela Peralta Theater. Somehow the ups and downs
have made me believe in this place. Because it’s hard to believe
in this place in the beginning.
“But now I’m going to focus more on my work and all
the really, really crazy artists that I find on my way. They have
to be just totally out of this world.
“I think that Oaxaca City will be a link for the OM Gallery.
Oaxaca has so many good potential artists, that we should set up
an exchange between San Miguel and Oaxaca.
“I paint on canvas, glass, wood, concrete, steel, plastic,
rock—I find every texture of every material in a part of my
painting.” Chi’s childlike style is no accident; he
often uses his fingers to paint and squeezes directly out of the
tube. “I like to use a lot of direct oil paint, spray, brushes,
sand, splash it, drop it…
“Now I’m mixing a lot of semi-precious stones, rocks
and crystals into the paintings. That just started, maybe it will
continue, or maybe it’s just a moment. I’m not sure
yet.”
 But
the young artist is still learning to negotiate the razors edge
between survival and productivity. “I’ve been investing
all my money in canvases, paints and a little bit of traveling.
I need it, I need to travel to be able to paint more, otherwise
I lose it. It really is expensive. If I really think about it, three
beers maybe is a tube of paint. Sometimes I’d rather have
the three beers than the tube of paint. Or get a big meal at a nice
restaurant. So then I’m like, ‘oh man, I don’t
have any paint.’ But if I buy all the paint, then what do
I eat? Painting is almost like eating in the best restaurant in
town. Daily.”
But he still finds time to enjoy the finer things in life: “I
like to eat good, love my woman and paint.”
At first cursory glance, the nearsighted art critic might consider
his heavy use of paints, bright colors and a huge John Hancock to
be sophomoric. But Chi has legitimized his unique style through
repetitive reinvention. If you take a look at what Chi was painting
just a year ago, and his growth, definition and change is apparent.
He’s become a more refined artist while maintaining a free
and unassuming style. He’s a true artist because he’s
really not trying to please anyone but himself.
“Like my girlfriend says: ‘Chi man, at least, in this
world—like okay, everybody does something to make the world
happy and to be in balance with everybody—at least you’re
giving colors to all of us. Whatever comes out of your head, its
nice colors. If they like those nice colors, they’re gonna
take them, and put them wherever they want. And every time they
see those colors they’re gonna feel happy and they’re
gonna remember where they got them from, San Miguel, and who they
got them from. Colors are like music. That’s why I love music
and paint.’”
 Chi
will continue to feature is own art and that of other guest artists
every month at OM. His mother, Eva Mar, has a new line of jewelry
that will be unveiled at the reinauguration. In the new year, Chi
hopes to travel more and will be opening his own show at a gallery
in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Come celebrate OM’s first anniversary this Saturday, August
28th, at 7:00pm. Join us for some avante-garde colors music and
magic. OM Studio Galleria, Recreo # 21-A, Centro |
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