PRINTCatalogue Note:
COBRA
Karel Appel was born in Amsterdam, he was without the doubt an active artist who challenged the status-quo. Seeing Appel paint is as if seeing an act of a performance art; colors were splashed across the canvas and painted with dramatic gestures. The intensity of colors is expressed with rhythm and spontaneity. In 1948, an experimental art group was formed called “CoBrA”. The group is joined with artists from Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam, the name was coined with the initials of the members’ home cities, hence the name of CoBrA. The members included Asger Jorn, Corneille, Constant and more. The avant-garde group broke away from the traditional ways of painting, injected a refreshed, experimented spirit to the postwar society. In 1950, Appel moved to Paris and was awarded with numerous awards, including the UNESCO award in the 1954 Venice Biennale, first prize in the 1959 Sao Paulo Art Biennale, and the Guggenheim International Award in 1960.
“To paint is to destroy what precede it” said Karel Appel. To destroy the former systematization and bring about avant-garde creations. Releasing boundaries and limitations, Appel’s brightly colored works have in a way relieved post-war desperations and given hope for many that have suffered from it. Despite the establishment of this experimental group only lasted for three years, its significance was viewed as a pivotal movement of the 20th century in Europe. The Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amsterdam was founded in 1995, solidifying its historical traces in the art history.
During the German occupied period when Appel was still enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Amsterdam, life was difficult. In order to make a living, Appel was able to exchange his talents in singing and paintings for food. The hardship of life Appel encountered is counterbalanced with his sense of humor, and elevated humanistic sentiment, it is therefore easily to understand why Appel seeks to went beyond the past, the original routines, and creating greater intrinsic values attached to his art. Appel was attracted to expressive works and admired artists like Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Jean Dubuffet and so on, however, his style did not follow certain artists, instead, he was inspired to experiment on new media and expressions, liberating rigid academic trainings and minds. Being one of the leading members of CoBrA, Appel declared in the January issue of CoBrA 1949: “To paint is to destroy what precede it.” To destroy the former systematization and bring about avant-garde creations with such ambitious mind-setting is not an easy task, but Appel has successfully stimulated an excited for the ground injection of refreshed experimental art to the contemporary world.
After World War II, Appel learned from children’s painting in the way that children paint without thinking about outlines, compositions and colors. Appel has never stopped “liberating” his minds when he creates, he had painted in a pitch-black environment, paint with his left hand since he is a right hand user, etc. The inspiration for Appel’s work is diverse, ranging from mystical beasts, animals from folklores, to street graffiti and patients with mental illness. These creations made without prior perceptions allowed for greater spontaneity and diversity.
In 1946, Appel held a first solo exhibition at Groningen, Netherlands. Three years later, the first exhibition of the group CoBrA was held at the Amsterdam Museum of Art. Since 1968, he began creating relief sculpture, and sculptures using wood, glass and aluminum. Appel’s work continued to remain lively; he does not pre-mix colors, and often used bright colors. His use of brushstrokes created works with childlike innocence. After his trip to the America in 1957, Appel was inspired by jazz music, and created a series of brightly colored oil paints with smooth flowing lines. His works are mixed with diverse materials and techniques; the spontaneous flow of minds is executed with masterful brushstrokes. Despite the shortlived experimental group ended in three years in November 1951, it has relieved postwar desperations and given hope for many that have suffered from it.
Looking at the work of “untitled”, it is noticed that Appel embraced abstractions and encourage spontaneity, his speedy executions are met with dynamic expressions coined with thick impasto brushstrokes. Among the abstract imagery it is possible to detect the presence of figures, on of lower parts of the canvas. On the lower left, a distinct profile of a man’s face is featured, calling out a resemblance of African masks. On the lower right, another man is contoured with white lines and depicted with a protruding eye. The energetic flow of the colors is scattered with intuition, where Appel’s physical manor of work is fully expressed within this work. Appel’s works are collected worldwide in public and private collection, such as Louisiana Museum in Denmark, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Guggenheim Museum in New York, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in Amsterdam, The National Museum of Art in Osaka
Karel Appel was born in Amsterdam, he was without the doubt an active artist who challenged the status-quo. Seeing Appel paint is as if seeing an act of a performance art; colors were splashed across the canvas and painted with dramatic gestures. The intensity of colors is expressed with rhythm and spontaneity. In 1948, an experimental art group was formed called “CoBrA”. The group is joined with artists from Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam, the name was coined with the initials of the members’ home cities, hence the name of CoBrA. The members included Asger Jorn, Corneille, Constant and more. The avant-garde group broke away from the traditional ways of painting, injected a refreshed, experimented spirit to the postwar society. In 1950, Appel moved to Paris and was awarded with numerous awards, including the UNESCO award in the 1954 Venice Biennale, first prize in the 1959 Sao Paulo Art Biennale, and the Guggenheim International Award in 1960.
“To paint is to destroy what precede it” said Karel Appel. To destroy the former systematization and bring about avant-garde creations. Releasing boundaries and limitations, Appel’s brightly colored works have in a way relieved post-war desperations and given hope for many that have suffered from it. Despite the establishment of this experimental group only lasted for three years, its significance was viewed as a pivotal movement of the 20th century in Europe. The Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amsterdam was founded in 1995, solidifying its historical traces in the art history.
During the German occupied period when Appel was still enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Amsterdam, life was difficult. In order to make a living, Appel was able to exchange his talents in singing and paintings for food. The hardship of life Appel encountered is counterbalanced with his sense of humor, and elevated humanistic sentiment, it is therefore easily to understand why Appel seeks to went beyond the past, the original routines, and creating greater intrinsic values attached to his art. Appel was attracted to expressive works and admired artists like Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Jean Dubuffet and so on, however, his style did not follow certain artists, instead, he was inspired to experiment on new media and expressions, liberating rigid academic trainings and minds. Being one of the leading members of CoBrA, Appel declared in the January issue of CoBrA 1949: “To paint is to destroy what precede it.” To destroy the former systematization and bring about avant-garde creations with such ambitious mind-setting is not an easy task, but Appel has successfully stimulated an excited for the ground injection of refreshed experimental art to the contemporary world.
After World War II, Appel learned from children’s painting in the way that children paint without thinking about outlines, compositions and colors. Appel has never stopped “liberating” his minds when he creates, he had painted in a pitch-black environment, paint with his left hand since he is a right hand user, etc. The inspiration for Appel’s work is diverse, ranging from mystical beasts, animals from folklores, to street graffiti and patients with mental illness. These creations made without prior perceptions allowed for greater spontaneity and diversity.
In 1946, Appel held a first solo exhibition at Groningen, Netherlands. Three years later, the first exhibition of the group CoBrA was held at the Amsterdam Museum of Art. Since 1968, he began creating relief sculpture, and sculptures using wood, glass and aluminum. Appel’s work continued to remain lively; he does not pre-mix colors, and often used bright colors. His use of brushstrokes created works with childlike innocence. After his trip to the America in 1957, Appel was inspired by jazz music, and created a series of brightly colored oil paints with smooth flowing lines. His works are mixed with diverse materials and techniques; the spontaneous flow of minds is executed with masterful brushstrokes. Despite the shortlived experimental group ended in three years in November 1951, it has relieved postwar desperations and given hope for many that have suffered from it.
Looking at the work of “untitled”, it is noticed that Appel embraced abstractions and encourage spontaneity, his speedy executions are met with dynamic expressions coined with thick impasto brushstrokes. Among the abstract imagery it is possible to detect the presence of figures, on of lower parts of the canvas. On the lower left, a distinct profile of a man’s face is featured, calling out a resemblance of African masks. On the lower right, another man is contoured with white lines and depicted with a protruding eye. The energetic flow of the colors is scattered with intuition, where Appel’s physical manor of work is fully expressed within this work. Appel’s works are collected worldwide in public and private collection, such as Louisiana Museum in Denmark, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Guggenheim Museum in New York, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in Amsterdam, The National Museum of Art in Osaka