New York artist Christopher Chiappa makes art that packs a visual punchline. A former protégé of the legendary Jeff Koons, Chiappa broke out on his own with sculptures, cartoons, videos, and animations that bury meaning and humor in richly layered works. 

Since debuting in 1998 with his solo exhibition “It Feels So Good to Be a Lie,” followed in 1999 with a commission by Camel to design a limited edition cigarette pack along with Damien Hirst and Nan Goldin, Chiappa’s works often bridge the space between art and commerce in sharp, satirical ways. 

From an enormous phallic Chapstick, to the eerily beautiful glowing cast of his Speed Stick Deodorant arch and hitching a ride through the streets of NYC by laying on a skateboard and clinging on to a car’s exhaust pipe for “Volvo Exhaust,” Chiappa’s art is always exciting, unexpected, thought provoking, and very often gut-busting.

As he said in a 2012 interview for Lowdown Magazine, “I’ve always believed in the power of humor. I am acutely aware of the different ways people communicate and have always been drawn to the way comedy can deliver bitter pills.” 

Chiappa is represented by Kate Werble Gallery (/) in New York and you can see more of his work on his website.

Credits: Images courtsey of Kate Werble Gallery

SPEED STICK, 2008-2013
cast Speed Stick
12 x 16”

VOLVO EXHAUST, 2006
Pigmented Inkjet Print
20 x 27”

CAMEL: Commissioned by RJ Reynolds