Michael Chapman's recent paintings are a requiem mass for the recollected or imagined urban environment of California. Californian's who remember the Bell Gardens, Huntington Beaches, Redondo Beaches, or Tustins of the 1950's and 60's will sense something known and uncanny here. Poised in the compositions in dissonant array like children's toys, these objects have a psychologically disturbing presence. This feature recalls the manner in which objects were singled out and isolated by Edward Hopper. The imaginary landscape is populated with objects that are precisely defined without being heavily detailed.
Every form is articulated carefully in light and shadow.
Forms as large as elephants and as mobile and fast as man can make them. The cars and planes here represent more than just modes of transport. The once charmed and charming history of California car culture has given way to the automobile as the defining presence in our lives. Commuters endure long hours in Eddie Bauer interiors. The homeless and impoverished live months and years in a shelter originally made by Oldsmobile.