Karel Appel
Gesichter
Current location
Stadthaus, Gubelstrasse 22, 6301 Zug, 1. OG Ost, Personalabteilung
Karel Appel is born in Amsterdam in 1921, where he studies at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in the 1940s. Appel is a co-founder of the CoBrA art group (named after the members’ cities of origin: Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam), which opposes the conservative views held at the academies and instead draws inspiration from the world of emotions and from traditions that are often looked down upon. Partly childlike and naive, abstract-figurative and featuring elements of folk art, Karel Appel’s works reveal influences from Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism and Art Brut. In the 1950s, Appel gains international recognition after his works are exhibited at the São Paulo Biennial and he is awarded the Grand Prize for Painting. The artist frequently seeks to collaborate with artists from other disciplines, including on musical compositions, theatre projects and stage designs. His works are characterised by free compositions, painterly density and a strong use of colour. They depict neither purely figurative nor entirely abstract representations, but constantly oscillate between the two poles.
Genre
Material / Technique
Dimensions
Frame dimensions: 79.5 x 96.4 cm
Object-related numbers
KS 658