Dr. Jean Chapman: Transition Spaces 11.1 Opening June 3 in Museum

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., May 18, 2011 -- “Dr. Jean Chapman: Transition Spaces Series 11.1” opens June 3 in the Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum at Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus.

The public is invited to attend an opening reception from 4-8 p.m. June 3.   The exhibit will remain on display through July 31.

The exhibition consists of two large paintings and three marble sculptures representing a small portion of a larger body of work by the late Dr. Jean Chapman (April 18, 1928 – March 23, 2009).   Chapman’s work reflects his interest in flowers and the human form.
Like many artists, Chapman’s experience and interest in art started at an early age and continued during and after he retired from medical practice.  Chapman kept an art studio while practicing medicine and his love for art was so strong not even his long days of medical practice could keep him away from the studio.   The materials he used often varied but his subject matters didn’t.  

Throughout his artistic practice, flowers and the human form, particularly the female form, were his main subject matters.  On these two subjects, Chapman in 2001 said, “My work is to remind you of the natural beauty of flowers and the human body. Beautiful flowers are the ultimate symbol of procreation.  The pictures I have created of breasts of the female form are my attempts to edify the female.”

Chapman earned a medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and a bachelor of science degree from Southeast Missouri State University. Chapman exhibited at the Kellerman Gallery, Arts Council of Southeast Missouri and currently at the Edward Bernard Gallery in Cape Girardeau.  He received numerous awards and honors including a Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the Otto F. Dingeldein Award from the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, and Citizenship and Community Service Award from the Missouri State Medical Association.

The Crisp Museum is located in the Cultural Arts Center at Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus, 518 S. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Museum hours: Tuesday to Friday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and weekends: 1-4 p.m. The museum will be closed July 2-5.  For additional information, email museum@semo.edu or call (573) 651-2260.