KAREL APPEL (Amsterdam 1921–2006 Zürich) Smiling in the Ping. 1964. Oil on canvas. Signed lower left: appel, also signed and dated on the stretcher: SMILING IN THE PING appel. 80 × 65 cm. Provenance: - Martha Jackson Gallery, New York (verso with the label). - Sothebys New York, Auction 12 September 2007, lot 83. - Purchased from the above, private collection Switzerland. - By descent to the present owner, also private collection Switzerland. The Dutch artist Karel Appel was one of the most important artists of the post-war period and for a long time had the reputation of being its enfant terrible. The present painting, “Smiling in the Ping”, dates from 1964. By then Appel was spending most of his time in New York, getting to know the Abstract Expressionists, whose influence on the Dutchmans artistic expression is undisputed. Like many artists of the time, he was influenced by the experiences of the Second World War. These artists responded to the shocks of this period with a hitherto unknown gestural**and radicalism. The boundaries between figuration and abstraction blurred. Against a red neon background, a figure emerges, rendered in an impasto of quickly applied, bold brushstrokes. The round shape suggests the idea of a head, and then it is only a short distance to also recognise the large, round eyes staring at us ... and does a grinning mouth open underneath, as the title promises? This insight when contemplating the work, powerfully elucidates Appels artistic approach: "Appels concept of art is individualistic rather than social, and focuses on the effect of the work of art on the viewers imagination after it is created by the artist rather than in a participatory creative act [...]" (Ottmann, Klaus: Karel Appel. A gesture of colour. Paintings and sculptures, 1947-2004, Munich 2016, p. 15). KAREL APPEL (Amsterdam 1921–2006 Zürich) Smiling in the Ping. 1964. ?l auf Leinwand. Unten links signiert: appel, sowie auf dem Keilrahmen signiert und betitelt: SMILING IN THE PING appel. 80 × 65 cm. Provenienz: - Martha Jackson Gallery, New York (verso mit dem Etikett). - Sothebys New York, Auktion 12. September 2007, Los 83. - Bei obiger Auktion erworben, Privatsammlung Schweiz. - Durch Erbschaft an den heutigen Besitzer, ebenfalls Privatsammlung Schweiz. Der Niederl?nder Karel Appel geh?rt zu den bedeutendsten Künstlern der Nachkriegszeit und hat lange den Ruf des Enfant terrible. Das vorliegende Gem?lde ?Smiling in the Ping“ stammt aus dem Jahr 1964. Mittlerweile verbringt Appel den gr?ssten Teil seiner Zeit in New York, lernt**Abstrakten Expressionisten kennen, deren Einfluss auf**künstlerische Ausdrucksweise des Niederl?nders unumstritten ist. Er ist, wie viele Künstler dieser Zeit, durch**Erfahrungen des Zweiten Weltkrieges gepr?gt. Sie antworten auf**Erschütterungen dieser Zeit mit einer bis dahin unbekannten gestischen Freiheit und Radikalit?t.**Grenzen zwischen Figuration und Abstraktion verschwimmen. Vor einem rot neon-farbenen Hintergrund erhebt sich mit pastosen, schnell aufgetragenen, kr?ftigen Pinselstrichen eine Figur. Zumindest ruft**runde Form**Assoziation eines Kopfes hervor, und dann ist es nur ein kurzer Weg, auch**grossen, runden Augen,**uns anstarren, zu erkennen … und ?ffnet sich darunter ein grinsender Mund, so wie es der Titel verspricht? Diese Erkenntnis beim Betrachten des Werkes erkl?rt eindrucksvoll Appels künstlerischen Ansatz: ?Appel’s concept of art is individualistic rather than social, and focuses on the effect of the work of art on the viewer’s imagination after it is created by the artist rather than in a participatory creative act […]“ (Ottmann, Klaus: Karel Appel. A gesture of color. Paintings and sculptures, 1947-2004, München 2016, S. 15)
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