Karel Appel

A founding figure of CoBrA (1948–1951), which developed from the Dutch Experimental Group (1948), Karel Appel (1921–2006) began his career in the aftermath of the Second World War. Over the course of six decades, the artist experimented widely, across painting, sculpture, drawing, and stage design, distinguishing himself for his astonishing capacity to innovate; Appel never settled in a signature style, media or subject. Going beyond his classical, academic training at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam, the artist looked at folk art, as well as the uninhibited work of children and the mentally ill, whilst also drawing from jazz’s spirit of improvisation. Alternating between abstraction and figuration, Appel adopted a material-oriented approach in his practice, and promoted a genuine form of expression, an art which writer and curator Klaus Ottmann describes as ‘divorced from any political or didactic purpose’.

‘The Appel effect represents painting and sculpture at their best. It is close to the heart, animalistic, idealistic and thoroughly experimental. It playfully combines ideology with matter and form, and pushes us beyond the boundaries imposed by the human condition.’

K. Ottmann, ‘The Appel Effect’, in: Karel Appel. Retrospective, exh. cat., Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague; Cologne: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2016, p. 46

Image: Nude no. 32, 1995, © Karel Appel Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, 2019

Selected Works

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Solo Exhibitions

Paris / New York

41 Dover Street, London

20 January – 26 February 2022

Object Paintings

Goethestraße 2/3, Berlin

February – 3 April 2021

KAREL APPEL

Window Gallery, Goethestraße 2/3, Berlin

21 January – 9 March 2020

Late Nudes, 1985 – 1995

Goethestraße 2/3, Berlin

15 November 2019 – 11 January 2020

Group Exhibitions

Karel Appel, André Butzer, William N. Copley, Ida Ekblad, Jeff Elrod, Walton Ford, Tursic & Mille

41 Dover Street, London

1 – 19 September 2020

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

A Gesture of Color

Paintings and Sculptures, 1947-2004

Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.

18 June – 18 September 2016

Werke auf Papier

Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich

4 February – 17 April 2016

A Retrospective

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague

16 January – 16 May 2016

I do not paint, I hit!

Museum Jorn, Silkeborg

2 June – 4 August 2013

Biography

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VITA

1921

Born in Amsterdam

1942

Studies at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam

1948-1951

Founding figure and participant of the CoBra movement

2006

Died in Zurich

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Albertina, Vienna

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo

Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe

Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton

Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo

Bonnefanten Museum, Masstricht

Centraal Museum, Utrecht

CGAC - Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela

Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Amstelveen

Collezione Peggy Guggenheim, Venice

Danubiana – Muelensteen Art Museum, Bratislava

Didrichsen Art Museum, Helsinki

Fondation Van Gogh, Arles

FRAC – Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur, Marseille

GAM - Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague

Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo

Henie-Onstad Art Center, Høvikodden

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.

Hofstra Museum at Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York

IVAM, Centre Julio González, Valencia

Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo

Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg

Kunsthalle Bremen, Bremen

Kunsthalle in Emden, Stiftung Henri und Eske Nannen und Schenkung Otto van de Loo, Emden

Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur

LAAC – Lieu d’Art et Ection Contemporaine de Dunkerque, Dunkerque

Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz

Les Abattoires - Centre d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Toulouse

Louisiana Museum, Humblebaek

Mamac - Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Liege

MASP - Museo de Arte de São Paolo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paolo

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Saint Louis

Moderna Museet, Stockholm

Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris

Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal / The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montréal

Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris

Musée National d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporian, Nice

Musee Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

Museo de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paolo, São Paolo

Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City

Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Bilbao

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam

Museum Jorn, Silkeborg

Museum Ludwig, Cologne

Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Museum Würth, Künzelsau

National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik

National Museum of Art, Osaka

National Museum of Art, Oslo

Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin

Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona

Pinakothek der Moderne – Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München, Munich

R. & H. Batliner Art Foundation, Vienna

Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, Amersfoort

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Rose Art Museum, Waltham

S.M.A.K., Gent

Sammlung Essl, Klosterburg

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco

Scottish National Galerie of Modern Art, Edinburgh

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

Stanford University Museum of Art, Stanford

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam

Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Schiedam

Tate Modern, London

Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv

The Berardo Collection Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Lisbon

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland

The Museum of Modern Art, New York

The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.

Ulster Museum, Belfast

University at Buffalo Art Galleries, Buffalo

University of California, Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley

Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven

Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022

Paris / New York
Galerie Max Hetzler, London (catalogue)

2021

Eternal Space of Being
Galerie Lelong & Co., Paris

Karel Appel 100
Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Amstelveen

Object Paintings
Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin (catalogue)

2019

Late Nudes, 1985 – 1995
Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin (catalogue)

Figures et Paysages
Almine Rech Gallery, Paris

Works on canvas and paper
Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam

Works on Paper 1945 – 2006
Galerie Ulysses, Wien

2018

Karel Appel. Tête en carton. Collagen 1960 - 1967
Jahn und Jahn, Munich

Karel Appel: Out of Nature
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles

2017

Karel Appel. Works on Paper 1945-2006
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

Karel Appel. L'art est une fête !
Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris

2016

Karel Appel. Der abstrakte Blick
Emil Schumacher Museum Hagen, Hagen

Karel Appel. A Gesture of Color. Paintings and Sculptures, 1947-2004
The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.

Werke auf Papier
Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München, Munich

Karel Appel. Paintings from Six Decades
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

The Opera
Cobra Museum of Modern Art, Amstelveen

Karel Appel Retrospectief / Karel Appel Retrospective
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague

Karel Appel. Reset
Slewe Gallery, Amsterdam

2015

Karel Appel: Works on paper
Musée national d’art moderne – Centre Pompidou, Paris

2014

Karel Appel
Blum & Poe, New York

2013

Karel Appel: I do not paint, I hit!
Museum Jorn, Silkeborg

Karel Appel: Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

2011

Karel Appel & Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh Huis, Zundert

2010

Karel Appel. Paintings from five Decades
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

2009

Karel Appel: Peintures 2000–2001
Galerie Lelong, Paris

2008

Karel Appel: The Sixties
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

Karel Appel - Jazz 1958–1962
Cobra Museum, Amstelveen

Karel Appel: Opere 1990–2002
Galleria Arte 92, Milan

2007

Karel Appel. Works on paper 1949 – 2005
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

Karel Appel: Monumentale Aktzeichnungen
Albertina, Vienna

Karel Appel: Last Paintings
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

2005

Karel Appel: Retrospective 1945–2005
Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava

Karel Appel: Opere 1991–2002
Galleria Arte 92, Milan

Karel Appel: Recente Werken
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague

2004

Karel Appel. The Cobra Years
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

Paperworks of Karel Appel
National Museum, Belgrade

Karel Appel. New Works on Paper
JG Contemporary, New York

Karel Appel. Onderweg: Reis van Rudi Fuchs langs de Kunst der Lage Landen
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

2003

Karel Appel: oeuvres sur papier 1999-2002
Galerie Lelong, Paris

2002

Karel Appel
Kunstforum Wien, Vienna

Karel Appel: Japanese Landscapes
Galerie Lelong, Zurich

Karel Appel: werken op papier
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague

Karel Appel: Mutation in Motion
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

2001

Karel Appel: Beelden 1936–2000
Cobra Museum of Modern Art, Amstelveen

Karel Appel: Der Machtwille der Planeten
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

Karel Appel: Pastorale Chiaroscuro
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

Karel Appel: “Sag zum Abschied leise Servus”
Galerie Lelong, Paris

Karel Appel: Werk op papier
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague

2000

Karel Appel: Recente sculpturen & gedichten
Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent

Karel Appel: 2000
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

1999

Karel Appel: Toys from the Attic
Bergen Kunstmuseum, Bergen

Karel Appel... Peintures, dessins et sculptures
Scène National d’Orléans, Orléans

1998

Sculptures without a Hero
The Sculpture Garden at 590 Madison Avenue, New York

Karel Appel: Psychopathological Art 1948–50
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

Sculptures without a Hero
Museum Beelden aan Zee, Scheveningen

Appel: Natural Phenomenon
Galerie Lelong, Paris

Karel Appel: Birth of a Landscape
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

Karel Appel: “Thinking Spaces”
Kärntner Landesgalerie, Klagenfurt

Karel Appel
Atelier del Bosco di Villa Medici, Rome

1997

Karel Appel: “Unintended Monuments”
Galerie Lelong, Zurich

1996

Karel Appel
Die Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck

Karel Appel: Gemälde, Gouachen, Zeichnungen 1950–1965
BAWAG Fondation, Vienna

Appel: Figures et Paysages
Galerie Lelong, Paris

Karel Appel: Variazioni sul tema
Fondazione Ambrosetti Arte Contemporanea, Brescia

1995

Karel Appel: Ich bin die Erde der alles entspringt
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

Karel Appel: Sculpture
Anderson Gallery, Buffalo

Karel Appel: Toskanischer Horizont
Galerie Lelong, Zurich

1993

Singing Donkeys: Nieuwe beelden van Karel Appel
Paleis Lange Voorhout, The Hague

1991

Karel Appel Retrospective
The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul

Karel Appel: Black & White Paintings
Marisa del Re Gallery, New York

1990

Karel Appel: Ik wou dat ik een vogel was. Grote formaten in de Beurs van Berlage
Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam

Karel Appel
Fine arts gallery, Visual arts department, UMBC, Baltimore

Karel Appel: Ik wou dat ik een vogel was
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague

1989

Karel Appel in Tokyo: 18 Works on Paper
Fuji Television Gallery, Tokyo

Appel
The National Museum of Art, Osaka

1988

Karel Appel: Portraits
Galerie de France, Paris

Karel Appel: Portraits from the Titan Series
Marisa del Re Gallery, New York

Karel Appel
Galerie Beyeler, Basel

1987

Karel Appel: Dipinti, sculture e collages
Castello di Rivoli, Turin

Karel Appel: Recent Paintings and Sculpture
Marisa del Re Gallery, New York

Karel Appel: Peinture-Sculpture-Dessin
Galerie d’Art Contemporain des Musées de Nice & Galerie des Ponchettes, Nice

1986

Karel Appel: Recent Paintings and Sculpture; Clouds, Windmill, Nudes and Other Mythologies
Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale

Karel Appel: Paintings 1980–1985
Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol

Karel Appel: Recent Paintings
Marisa del Re Gallery, New York

1985

Karel Appel
Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence

Karel Appel: New Yorker Bilder 1984–1985
Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, Cologne

Karel Appel: CoBrA Paintings 1948-1951
James Goodman Gallery, New York

Appel 1950 – 1970
The Contemporary Art Gallery, Tokyo

1984

Karel Appel
Listasafn, Reykjavik, Iceland

Karel Appel: Recent werk / oeuvres récentes / 1980–1983
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

Karel Appel
Annina Nosei Gallery, New York

Karel Appel: 14 Cobra-werken op papier
Collection d'Art, Amsterdam

Karel Appel
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer, New York

1983

Karel Appel: Oeuvres récentes
Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris

Karel Appel: Recent Paintings
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer, New York

Karel Appel: New Work
Gimpel Fils, London

1982

25 Years on the Road: A Visual Tribute to Kerouac
Boulder Center for the Visual Arts, Boulder

Het Nieuwe Werk van Karel Appel 1979 - 1981
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

Karel Appel: Werk op papier 1941 – 1981, tekeningen, aquarellen, gouaches
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague

1981

Karel Appel
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

Karel Appel: tentoonstelling t.g.v. zijn 60-ste verjaardag
Galerie Nova Spectra, The Hague

Appel
Museu de Arte do São Paulo, São Paulo

Karel Appel: Paintings from the 50's and 60's
Gimpel Fils, London

1980

Karel Appel
Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris

Karel Appel Recent Work
Hokin Gallery, Palm Beach

1979

The Graphic Art of Karel Appel: Art Gallery of Hamilton Collection
Art Gallery of York University, Toronto

1978

Dreissig Jahre Karel Appel
Saarland Museum, Saarbrücken

Karel Appel: Peintures et Sculpture
Fondation Château de Jau, Cases-de-Pène

1977

Prints
Fuji Television Gallery, Tokyo

Karel Appel
Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City

Karel Appel: The Complete Graphic Collection
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario

1976

Karel Appel
Collection d’art, Amsterdam

Karel Appel: Schilderijen, gouaches, acryls, keramische beelden 1950-1975
Galerie Nova Spectra, The Hague

Karel Appel: Paintings of the 60’s
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

1975

Karel Appel
Aberbach Fine Art, New York

Appel
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer, New York

Appel
Fuji Television Gallery, Tokyo

Appel: Paintings
Wildenstein, London

1974

Karel Appel Retrospective
Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale

Karel Appel: Retrospective 1955–1973; Oils, Acrylics, Gouaches, Lithographs
Gloria Luria Gallery, Miami

Karel Appel: Paintings from the 50’s and 60’s
Gimpel Fils, London

1973

Karel Appel: The Early Fifties - Paintings, Gouaches, Drawings, Ceramics 1950–56
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

1972

Appel’s Appels
Musée d’Art Contemporain, Montreal

1971

Karel Appel
Galerie Moderne, Silkeborg

Karel Appel
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

1970

Appel’s Oogappels
Centraal Museum, Utrecht

1969

Appel: Peinture acrylic
Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich

1968

Karel Appel: Reliefs 1966–68
Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Paris

1967

Karel Appel
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

Karel Appel: Paintings, Gouaches, Graphics
Redfern Gallery, London

1966

Appel
Galerie Ariel, Paris

Karel Appel: paintings and graphics
Makler Gallery, Philadelphia

1965

Appel
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

1964

Appel Nudes
Stephen Hahn Gallery, New York

Appel
American Art Gallery, Copenhagen

Karel Appel
Galleria Blu, Milan

Karel Appel from California Collections
Pavilion Gallery, Balboa

Karel Appel: Object-Paintings
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

1963

Karel Appel: Paintings, Sculpture, Graphics, Books
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

Karel Appel: Selezione di dipinti dal 1950 al 1961
La Medusa, Rome

Karel Appel: Dix Ans de Lithographie 1953 - 1963
Galerie Anderson - Mayer, Paris

Appel
Galerie Nova Spectra, The Hague

Appel Nudes
Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich

1962

Karel Appel: Collages 1949–1962
Galerie Charles Lienhard, Zurich

Karel Appel
Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne

Karel Appel: Paintings 1951–1956
Stephen Hahn Gallery, New York

Karel Appel: Sculptures
Galerie Rive Droite, Paris

1961

Karel Appel. Gouaches and Lithographs
David Anderson Gallery, New York

Appel
Gallery Moos, Toronto

Karel Appel
Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven

K. Appel
Galleria dell’Ariete, Milan

Karel Appel
Gimpel Fils, London

Karel Appel: West Coast Exhibiton
San Francisco Art Museum, San Francisco

1960

Karel Appel
Galerie Rive Droite, Paris

Karel Appel
Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo

Karel Appel: Paintings 1955–1960 and Recent Gouaches
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

Lithographs by Appel
David Anderson Gallery, New York

1959

Dipingere coi tessuti
Il Centro Internazionale della Arti e del Costume, Palazzo Grassi, Venice

Oil paintings from 1952–1959 by Karel Appel
Gimpel Fils, London

Appel
Gendai Gallery, Tokyo

Karel Appel
Galerie Charles Lienhard, Zurich

1958

Karel Appel
Galerie Änne Abels, Cologne

Appel
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

Appel: Gouaches et céramiques
Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris

1957

Paintings: Karel Appel
Institute of Contemporary Art, London

Appel: New paintings
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

Appel
Galerie Stadler, Paris

Karel Appel
Galerie Espace, Haarlem

Appel
Galleria La Tartaruga, Rome

1956

Appel
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

Karel Appel: Portraits
Galerie Rive Droite, Paris

K. Appel: Dipinti e ceramiche
Galleria dell’Ariete, Milan

1955

Karel Appel
Galerie Rive Droite, Paris

1954

Appel
Studio Paul Facchetti, Paris

Karel Appel: First American Exhibition
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York

1953

Karel Appel
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

1951

Karel Appel
Kunstzaal van Lier, Amsterdam

1949

Karel Appel
Het Beerenhuis, Groningen

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022

Herzstücke. The Kunsthalle Collection
Kunsthalle Tübingen, Tübingen

New Acquisitions
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humblebæk

Chaissac & CoBrA. Sous le signe du serpent
Musée Soulages, Rodez

2021

Personae: Masks Against Barbarism
Es Baluard Museu d'Art Contemporani de Palma, Palma

Let Textiles Talk: Six Tapestries Unravelled
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

CA2M Dialect
Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid

WILD/SCHÖN. Tiere in der Kunst
Kunsthalle Emden, Emden

2020

Degree Zero. Drawing at Midcentury
MoMA, New York

Pure Abstraction
Flint Institute of Arts, Flint

CoBrA e origini
Dellupi Arte, Mailand

Mit heißem Herzen. Aus Leidenschaft zur Kunst. Die Sammlungen Becker, van de Loo und Nannen
Kunsthalle Emden, Emden

Disonata. Art in Sound up to 1980
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid

Galerie Max Hetzler, London

Summer
Almine Rech, Paris

Forget (Part II: Don’t Forget Your Mask)
Jahn und Jahn, Munich

Karel Appel / Pierre Alechinsky. Travaux à deux pinceaux (1976 – 1978)
Galerie Lelong & Co., Paris

New Images of Man
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles

Plan A
FRAC Poitou-Charentes - Angoulême

2019

Chagall, Picasso, Mondrian and Others
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

40 Jahre DIE GALERIE
Die Galerie, Frankfurt am Main

2018

Wildnis
Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main

BLACK HOLE: Art and materiality from Informal to Invisible
Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo (GAMeC), Bergamo

The Most Dangerous Game
Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin

70 Jahre Cobra
Die Galerie, Frankfurt am Main

110 Years 110 Works
Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Bilbao

Wohin das Auge reicht - Neue Einblicke in die Sammlung Würth
Kunsthalle Würth, Schwäbische Hall

Informel International - Auszüge aus der Sammlung Haniel
Märkisches Museum Witten, Witten

Hugo Claus, Con amore
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

2016

Postwar: Art Between the Pacific and the Atlantic, 1945 - 1965
Haus der Kunst, Munich

2015

I Got Rhythm. Kunst und Jazz seit 1920
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Stuttgart

Miró & Cobra. Experimenteel spel
Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Amstelveen

The Avant-Garde Won’t Give Up. Cobra & Its Legacy
Blum & Poe, New York

2014

International Exchanges: Modern Art and St Ives 1915 - 65
Tate St Ives, Saint Ives

From the Guggenheim Collection to the Cobra Museum Amstelveen. International Abstraction 1949 – 1960
Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Amstelveen

2013

From Beckmann to Warhol. Art of the 20th and 21st Century - Collection Bayer
Martin Gropius Bau Berlin, Berlin

Opening Exhibition
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Amsterdam

2012

Passadena to Santa Barbara: A Selected History of Art in Southern California, 1951 – 1969
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara

Art of Another Kind: International Abstraction and the Guggenheim, 1949 - 1960
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

2011

Klee und Cobra. Ein Kinderspiel
Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern

Les Sujets de l’Abstraction, Peinture non-figurative de la Seconde École de Paris, 101 Chefs-d’œuvre de la Fondation Gandur pour l’Art
Musée Rath, Geneva

Postwar Abstract Painting in France and Art Informel
Bridgestone Museum of Art, Ishibashi Foundation, Tokyo

Parijs - Stad van de moderne kunst 1900 - 1960
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague

2010

Le grand geste! Informel und Abstrakter Expressionismus 1946-1964
Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf

2009

Musée National d’Art Moderne: La collection permanente (de 1905 à nos jours)
Centre Pompidou, Paris

Paris Central. Vrije stad, vrije kunst in de jaren ’50
Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Amstelveen

Meisterwerke der Moderne: Die Sammlung Batliner
Albertina, Vienna

The Sweeney Decade: Acquisitions at the 1959 Inaugural
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

2008

The Human Image in the Twentieth Century : From Picasso and Dali to Yokoo and Nara, Works from the Collection of the Tokushima Modern Art Museum
Gunma Museum of Art, Gunma, Japan

De Miró à Warhol. La Collection Berardo à Paris
Musée du Luxembourg, Paris

Action Painting
Fondation Beyeler, Basel

Goya y el mundo moderno
Museo de Zaragoza, Spain

2007

Monet to Picasso - The Batliner Collection
Albertina, Vienna

Collage/Collages from Cubism to New Dada
GAM Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin

2006

The Guggenheim Collection
Kunst-und Austellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn

Pour revoir le monde: collection d’art moderne et contemporain des Abattoirs Toulouse
Fine Arts School, Chongqing

2005

Von Spitzweg bis Baselitz: Streifzüge durch die Sammlung Würth / From Spitzweg to Baselitz: Excursions to the Würth Collection
Museum Würth, Künzelsau

2004

Encounters with Modernism. Highlights from the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai

Expressive Bildwelten: die Schenkungen Otto van de Loo
Kunsthalle in Emden, Emden

Nordic Summer
Galerie Beyeler, Basel

2003

Expressiv!
Fondation Beyeler, Basel

Papiers choisis
Les Abattoirs, Toulouse

Up to now
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

Gogh Modern: Vincent van Gogh en de hedendaagse kunst
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Cobra in the Hermitage
Hermitage, St. Petersburg

2002

Paris: Capital of the Arts, 1900 – 1968
The Royal Academy of Arts, London

2000

About Collage
Tate Gallery Liverpool, Liverpool

1998

Rendezvous. Masterpieces from the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Guggenheim Museums
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

1997

Made in France 1947 - 1997
Centre national d’art et de culture Georges Pompidou, Paris

Art of the 20th Century, Flemish and Dutch Painting. From Van Gogh, Ensor, Magritte, Mondrian to contemporary artists
Palazzo Grassi, Venice

1996

Munch en na Munch: of de hardnekkigheid van schilders / Munch and after Munch: or the obstinacy of painters
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

1995

Views from Abroad. European Perspectives on American Art I
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

1994

New Displays 1994
Tate Gallery, London

1985

7th Cleveland International Drawing Biennale. Invited Artist: Karel Appel
Cleveland County Museum, Cleveland

1984

Artistic Collaboration in the Twentieth Century
Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.

1980

Belgique - Pays-Bas. Points de rapprochement et parallèles dans l’art après 1945
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

1971

Martha Jackson Gallery Collection
The Seibu Museum of Art, Tokyo

Opere di Maestri Contemporanei Europei
Palazzo Internazionale delle Aste ed Esposizioni, Florence

1969

Appel – Lucebert –Tajiri
Kunsthalle Basel, Basel

1968

Painting in France 1900 – 1967
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

1965

Imagadventure
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

1963

Schrift en beeld
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

20th century Master Drawings
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

1960

Famous Likeness
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

Antagonismes
Musée des Arts Decoratifs - Palais du Louvre - Pavillon de Marsan, Paris

1959

II. documenta
Kassel

Vitalità nell'Arte
Il Centro Internazionale della Arti e del Costume, Palazzo Grassi, Venice

Paintings from the Stedelijk Museum
Milwakee Art Center, Wisconsin

New Images of Man
Museum of Modern Art, New York

Trends in Contemporary Dutch Art
The Arts Council, London

1955

Expressionism 1900-1955
San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco

1954

Olanda
The Dutch Pavillion of the XXVII Biennale di Venezia, Venice

1953

Younger European Painters
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

1949

Exposition Internationale d’Art Expérimental
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

1948

Werken van Appel, Corneille, Constant
Kunstzaal Van Lier, Amsterdam

Amsterdamse schilders van nu
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

1946

Jonge Schilders
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris (Ed.): Karel Appel, Paris 2017

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (Ed.): Karel Appel Retrospectief / Karel Appel Retrospective, The Hague 2016

The Phillips Collection (Ed.): Karel Appel. A Gesture of Color. Paintings and Sculptures, 1947-2004, Washington 2016

Emil Schumacher Museum Hagen (Ed.): Karel Appel. Der abstrakte Blick, Hagen 2016

Galerie Ulysses (Ed.): Karel Appel. Paintings from Six Decades, Vienna 2016

Blum & Poe (Ed.): The Avant-Garde Won’t Give Up. Cobra & Its Legacy, New York 2015

Centre Pompidou & Staatliche Sammlung München – Pinakothek der Moderne (Eds.): Karel Appel. Works on paper, Munich/Paris 2015

Blum & Poe (Ed.): Karel Appel, New York 2014

Museum Jorn (Ed.): Karel Appel. I do not paint, I hit!, Silkeborg 2013

Santa Barbara Museum of Art (Ed.): Pasadena to Santa Barbara: Selected History of Art in Southern California, 1951 – 1969, Santa Barbara 2012

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (Ed.): Art of Another Kind: International Abstraction and the Guggenheim, 1949 – 1960, New York 2012

Vincent van Gogh Huis (Ed.): Karel Appel & Van Gogh, Zundert 2011

Zentrum Paul Klee (Ed.): Klee and Cobra – A Child’s Play, Bern 2011

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (Ed.): Parijs. Stad van de moderne kunst, The Hague 2011

Galerie Ulysses (Ed): Karel Appel: Paintings from five decades , Vienna 2010

Universitaire Pers Leuven (Ed.): Karel Appel, Un geste de couleur / Karel Appel, A Gesture of Colour, Leuven 2009

Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst (Ed.): Paris Central. Vrije stad, vrije kunst in de jaren ’50, Amstelveen 2009

Musée Luxembourg (Ed.): De Miró à Warhol. La collection Berardo à Paris, Paris 2008

Galerie Ulysses (Ed.): Karel Appel: The Sixties, Vienna 2008

Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst (Ed.): Karel Appel. Jazz 1958 – 1962, Amstelveen 2008

Galleria Arte 92 (Ed.): Karel Appel: Opere 1990–2002, Milan 2008

Athaneum-Polak & Van Gennep (Ed.): Karel Appel in Essentie, Amsterdam 2007

Albertina Museum (Ed.): Karel Appel. Monumentale Aktzeichnungen, Vienna 2007

Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Ed.): The Guggenheim. Die Sammlung, Bonn 2006

Galerie Ulysses (Ed.): Karel Appel: Last Paintings, Vienna 2006

Galleria Arte 92 (Ed.): Karel Appel. Opere 1991 – 2002, Milan 2005

Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum (Ed.): Karel Appel: Retrospective 1945 – 2005, Bratislava 2005

Palais des Beaux-Arts (Ed.): Karel Appel. Onderweg. Reis van Rudi Fuchs langs de kunst der lage landen, Brussels 2004

Galerie Lelong (Ed.): Karel Appel: Japanese Landscapes, Zurich 2002

Kunstforum Wien (Ed.): Karel Appel, Vienna 2002

Galerie Lelong (Ed.): Karel Appel: Sag zum Abschied leise Servus, Paris 2001

Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst (Ed.): Karel Appel: Beelden 1936–2000, Amstelveen 2001

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Ed.): Karel Appel, Pastorale Chiaroscuro, Amsterdam 2001

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (Ed.): Karel Appel: Werk op papier, The Hague 2001

Galerie Ulysses (Ed.): Karel Appel: Der Machtwille der Planeten, Vienna 2001

Uitgeverij Contact (Ed.): Karel Appel. De Biografie, Amsterdam 2000

Galerie Kusseneers (Ed.): Karel Appel, Lier 2000

Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (Ed.): Karel Appel: Recente sculpturen & gedichten, Ghent 2000

Verlag Gachnang & Springer (Ed.): Karel Appel: Psychopathological Notebook, Bern/Berlin 1999

Kärntner Landesgalerie (Ed.): Karel Appel. Thinking Spaces, Klagenfurt 1998

Galerie Lelong (Ed.): Appel: Natural Phenomenon, Paris 1998

Atelier del Bosco di Villa Medici (Ed.): Karel Appel, Rome 1998

Verlag Gachnang & Springer (Eds.): Karel Appel, ein Farbgestus, Bern/Berlin 1998

Galerie Ulysses (Ed.): Karel Appel: Birth of a Landscape, Vienna 1998

Verlag Gachnang & Springer (Eds.): Karel Appel: Psychopathologisches Notizbuch. Zeichnungen und Gouachen 1948-1950, Bern/Berlin 1997

Galerie Lelong (Ed.): Karel Appel: Unintended Monuments, Zurich 1997

Uitgeverij Contact (Ed.): Ode aan het Rood, Amsterdam 1996

Galerie Lelong (Ed.): Appel. Figures et paysages, Paris 1996

Fondazione Ambrosetti Arte Contemporanea (Ed.): Karel Appel: Variazioni sul tema, Brescia 1996

BAWAG Foundation (Ed.): Karel Appel. Gemälde, Gouachen, Zeichnungen 1950-1965, Vienna 1996

Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst (Ed.): De taal van Cobra en haar bronnen: uit de museumcollectie Van Stuijvenberg, Amstelveen 1995

Anderson Gallery (Ed.): Karel Appel: Sculpture, Buffalo 1995

Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich & Kunstmuseum Bern (Eds.): Mit dem Auge des Kindes, Munich/Bern 1995

Galerie Lelong (Ed.): Karel Appel, Toskanischer Horizont, Zurich 1995

Galerie Ulysses / Kärntner Landesgalerie Klagenfurt / Moderna Galerija Ljubljana (Eds.): Karel Appel: Ich bin die Erde der alles entspringt, Vienna/Klagenfurt/ Ljubljana 1995

H. N. Abrams (Ed.): Karel Appel Sculpture. A Catalogue Raisonné, New York 1994

The National Museum of Contemporary Art (Ed.): Karel Appel Retrospective, Seoul 1994

Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (Ed.): A Retrospective of Karel Appel, Taiwan 1994

Los Angeles County Museum of Art / Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía / Kunsthalle Basel / Setagaya Art Museum (Eds.): Parallel Visions. Modern Artists and Outsider Art, Los Angeles/Sofia/Basel/Tokyo 1992

Marisa del Re Gallery (Ed.): Karel Appel: Black & White Paintings, New York 1991

Lafayette (Ed.): Karel Appel The Complete Sculptures, New York 1990

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag / Josef Haubrich Kunsthalle / Fundació Juan Miró (Eds.): Ik wou dat Ik een Vogel was (If I were a bird), The Hague/Cologne/Barcelona 1990

Lafayette (Ed.): Dupe of Being, New York 1989

The National Museum of Art / The Seibu Museum of Art / Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts / Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art / Hakone Open Air Museum (Eds.): Appel, Osaka/Tokyo/Utsunomiya/Hiroshima/Ninotaira 1989

Éditions Galilée (Ed.): Karel Appel Peinture 1937-57 / Karel Appel. The Early Years 1937-57, Paris 1988

Galerie Beyeler (Ed.): Karel Appel, Basel 1988

Marisa del Re Gallery (Ed.): Karel Appel: Portraits from the Titan Series, New York 1988

Éditions Galilée (Ed.): Karel Appel 40 Ans de Peinture, Sculpture & Dessin, Paris 1987

Castello di Rivoli (Ed.): Karel Appel Dipinti, Sculpture e Collagi, Turin 1987

Marisa del Re Gallery (Ed.): Karel Appel: Recent Paintings and Sculpture, New York 1987

De Bezige Bij (Ed.): De kleurige onbekende, Amsterdam 1986

Marisa del Re Gallery (Ed.): Karel Appel: Recent Paintings, New York 1986

Museum of Art (Ed.): Recent Paintings and Sculpture; Clouds, Windmill, Nudes and Other Mythologies, Fort Lauderdale 1986

Arnolfini Gallery / Douglas Hyde Gallery (Eds.): Karel Appel: paintings 1980-85, 1986

Abbeville Press (Ed.): Karel Appel, Streetart, Ceramics, Sculpture, Wood Reliefs, Tapestries, Murals, Villa el Salvador, New York 1985

Éditions Galilée (Ed.): Propos en Liberté de Karel Appel, Paris 1985

Palazzo Medici Riccardi (Ed.): Karel Appel, Florence 1985

James Goodman Gallery (Ed.): Karel Appel: CoBrA Paintings 1948-1951, New York 1985

Galerie Rudolf Zwirner (Ed.): Karel Appel: New Yorker Bilder 1984–1985, Cologne 1985

Palais des Beaux-Arts (Ed.): Karel Appel: Recent werk / oeuvres récentes / 1980–1983, Brussels 1984

Listasafn (Ed.): Karel Appel, Reykjavik 1984

Kunstforum (Ed.): Karel Appel, Schelderode 1983

Éditions Galilée (Ed.): Océan Blesseé, Paris 1982

Éditions Galilée (Ed.): Street Art, Le Second Souffle de Karel Appel, Paris 1982

Éditions Galilée (Ed.): Ecrits sur Karel Appel, Paris 1982

Museum Boymans van Beuningen (Ed.): Het Nieuwe Werk van Karel Appel 1979 – 1981, Rotterdam 1982

Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence (Ed.): Appel et Alechinsky. Encres à deux pinceaux, peintures, etc., France 1982

Gemeente Museum Den Haag / Staatliche Kunsthalle / Städtische Galerie, Erlangen / Fries Museum / Liljevalchs Konsthall / Musee des Augustins / Kunstforeningen / Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (Eds.): Karel Appel: Werk op papier 1941 – 1981, tekeningen, aquarellen, gouaches, The Hague/Baden-Baden/Erlangen/Leeuwarden/Stockholm/Toulouse/Copenhagen/Oslo 1982

Museé d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris / Maison de la Culture, Chalon-sur-Saône / Museé des Beaux-Arts (Eds.): CoBrA, 1948-1951, Paris/Rennes 1982

Museu de Arte do São Paulo (Ed.): Appel, São Paulo 1981

Galerie Nova Spectra (Ed.): Karel Appel: tentoonstelling t.g.v. zijn 60-ste verjaardag, The Hague 1981

Harry N. Abrams / Meulenhoff / Landshoff (Eds.): Karel Appel, Amsterdam 1980

Abbeville Press (Ed.): Works on Paper, New York 1980

Art Gallery of York University (Ed.): The Graphic Art of Karel Appel: Art Gallery of Hamilton Collection, Toronto 1979

Saarland Museum / Rheinisches Landesmuseum / Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven (Eds.): Dreissig Jahre Karel Appel, Saarbrücken/Bonn/Wilkemshaven 1978

Fondation Chateau de Jau (Ed.): Karel Appel. Peintures et sculptures, Cases-de-Pène 1978

Van Spijk (Ed.): Karel Appel, Venlo 1977

Yves Rivière (Ed.): Éloge de la Folie, Paris 1977

Van Spijk (Ed.): Het Gezicht van Appel, Venlo 1977

Museo de Arte Moderno / Museo de Bellas Artes (Eds.): Karel Appel, Mexico City/Caracas 1977

Galerie Nova Spectra (Ed.): Karel Appel: schilderijen, gouaches, acryls, keramische beelden 1950–1975, The Hague 1976

Wildenstein (Ed.): Appel: Paintings, London 1975

The Detroit Institute of Arts (Ed.): CoBrA and Contrasts, The Winston-Malbin Collection, Detroit 1974

Musée d'Art Contemporain (Ed.): Appel's Appels, Montreal 1972

Triton Pers (Ed.): Karel Appel over Karel Appel, Amsterdam 1971

Galerie Moderne (Ed.): Karel Appel, Silkeborg 1971

Centraal Museum (Ed.): Appel’s Oogappels, Utrecht 1970

Fratelli Fabri Editor (Ed.): Karel Appel, Le Grandi Monografie, Pittori d'Oggi, Milan 1968

Martha Jackson Gallery (Ed.): Karel Appel, New York 1967

Stedelijk Museum / Palais des Beaux-Arts / Städtische Kunstgalerie / Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen / Moderna Museet (Eds.): Appel, Amsterdam/Bochum/Schaffhausen/Stockholm 1965

American Art Gallery (Ed.): Appel, Copenhagen 1964

Harry N. Abrams Publishers (Ed.): The Sculpture of Karel Appel, New York 1963

A.W. Bruna & Zoon (Ed.): Het verhaal van Karel Appel. Een Proeve van Waarneming, Utrecht 1963

Gimpel and Hanover Galerie Zürich / Galerie Europe / Gimpel Fils / Martha Jackson Gallery (Eds.): Appel Nudes, Zurich/Paris/London/New York 1963

La Medusa (Ed.): Karel Appel: Selezione di dipinti dal 1950 al 1961, Rome 1963

Edizione d’Arte Fratelli Pozzo (Ed.): Le sculture di Karel Appel, Turin 1962

Galerie der Spiegel (Ed.): Karel Appel, Cologne 1962

Galerie Rive Droite (Ed.): Karel Appel: Sculptures, Paris 1962

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Ed.): Karel Appel: West Coast Exhibiton, San Francisco 1961

Galleria dell 'Ariete (Ed.): K. Appel, Milan 1961

Galleria Lorenzelli (Ed.): Karel Appel, Bergamo 1960

Galerie Rive Droite (Ed.): Karel Appel , Paris 1960

Martha Jackson Gallery (Ed.): Karel Appel: Paintings 1955–1960 and Recent Gouaches, New York 1960

Palazzo Grassi (Ed.): Dipingere coi tessuti, Venice 1959

Galerie Charles Lienhard (Ed.): Karel Appel, Zurich 1959

The Museum of Modern Art (Ed.): New images of man, New York 1959

Galerie Claude Bernard (Ed.): Appel: Gouaches et céramiques, Paris 1958

Galerie Änne Abels (Ed.): Karel Appel, Cologne 1958

Martha Jackson Gallery (Ed.): Appel: New paintings, New York 1957

Institute of Contemporary Art (Ed.): Paintings: Karel Appel, London 1957

Galerie Stadler (Ed.): Appel, Paris 1957

Galleria La Tartaruga (Ed.): Appel, Rome 1957

Galerie Rive Droite (Ed.): Karel Appel: Portraits, Paris 1956

Galleria dell'Ariete (Ed.): K. Appel: Dipinti e ceramiche, Milan 1956

Galerie Rive Droite / Stedelijk Museum (Eds.): Karel Appel, Paris/Amsterdam 1955

Biennale di Venezia XXVII (Ed.): Olanda, Venice 1954

Studio Paul Fachetti (Ed.): Appel, Paris 1954

Palais des Beaux-Arts (Ed.): Karel Appel, Brussels 1953

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (Ed.): Younger European painters, New York 1953

Ejnar Munksgaard (Ed.): Appel, Copenhagen 1950

Others

Verlag Gachnang & Springer (Eds.): Karel Appel: Der Machtwille der Planeten. Ich bin der Planet. Du bist der Planet. Wir sind die Planeten. Gedichte aus den Jahren 1941-1996, Bern/Berlin 2000

Videos

Interview: Franz Kaiser

CEO of the Karel Appel Foundation; filmed on the occasion of the exhibition "Karel Appel: Paris / New York" at Galerie Max Hetzler, London

41 Dover Street, London

20 January 2022

Publications

Karel Appel, Object Paintings

Exhibition Poster
2021

€ 20.00

Selected Press

Les Inrockuptibles July 2017

The New York Times February 2016