The surealistic art of chess

The game of chess has always served as the perfect metaphor for the art of mental strategy; whether in love, war, or finance. On the ChessPrints site we find chess art with a surreal twist, images that illustrate the imaginative, surreal and metaphorical aspects of the game.

"Pawn", 24" x 36" Archival Inks on Canvas

These images on this page are the works of an artist, Jason Jimenez, who calls himself ARTitsa. Born in Oklahoma City, educated in Oklahoma State University, with a degree in Fine Arts / Minor Philosophy and Engineering Technology, ARTitsa gave us some background of his life and career.

Artist's Statement

I considered my father to be a great teacher. He was very opinionated. Although not academically educated, he never missed an opportunity to impart his views about politics, human nature, religion, philosophy, etc. He had a gift for using metaphor as a teaching tool, and one such metaphor that he shared on more than one occasion was as follows:

"Everything that we do and say as individuals is simply an extension of our inner self."

"Solitaire", 24" x 36" Archieval Inks on Canvas

What he meant was that whatever is truly happening inside the individual will eventually manifest itself. Before the artist can paint, the artist must first learn to see.

"Knight moves", 24" x 36" Archival Inks on Canvas

I have come to the conclusion that art is very much like music, in that one has a way of interpreting a piece relative to ones own unique view of the world, that way; like hit music, it speaks to us individually, so we make it our own. Although we hear the same music, the interpretation of the individual notes are different, like fingerprints. As an artist, and more importantly as a human being, I learned something the day I came to that conclusion.

"Dreams Are But Metaphors", 24" x 36" Archieval Inks on Canvas

Chess is but a metaphor for life, as most players come to realize. Chess, like life is often a matter of planning and careful forethoutht of execution, if the goal is to be realized.

"ChessTropolis", 24" x 36" Archieval Inks on Canvas

In the end, art like, chess is a tool for teaching about (life) dicipline, compasion creativty, abstract thought, even humility. all forms of art Including chess should speak to the possibilities, and true potential of human thought and expression.

"Duel, Duet", 24" x 36" Archieval Inks on Canvas

All the ARTitsa images are availble on canvas, with prints becoming available in the very near future. Prices on canvas: 24" x 36" $125.00, 36" x 48" $200.00 Free shipping for orders over two hundred dollars.

• ChessPrints web site