KAREL APPEL


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: Belly Dancer with Orange Cow, 1966, oil on canvas, 300 x 200 cm.; 118 1/8 x 78 3/4 in. © Karel Appel Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, 2019. Photo: def image

Artist Talk

Solo Exhibitions


Group Exhibitions


Selected Institutional Exhibitions


Biography


VITA

1921

Born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands


1942

Studies at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam  


1948–1951

Founding figure and participant of the CoBra movement


2006

Died in Zurich, Switzerland

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

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

Kunstmuseum 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

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

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 

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

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Stedelijk Museum Schiedam

Tate Modern, London

Tel Aviv Museum of Art

The Berardo Collection Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Lisbon

The Cleveland Museum of Art

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

2024

CoBrA | Non-CoBrA, curated Franz W. Kaiser
Galerie Max Hetzler, London


2023

Encounter in Spring and what follows, curated by Franz W. Kaiser
Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin


2022

Spinning Six Decades. Part I, Part II
Jahn und Jahn, Munich

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


2021

Eternal Space of Being
Galerie Lelong & Co., Paris

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, Vienna 


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


2016

Karel Appel. Der abstrakte Blick
Emil Schumacher Museum 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

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, also travelled to:
The Seibu Museum of Art, Tokyo;
Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Utsunomiya;
Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art;
The Hakone Open-Air Museum


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

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

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

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 


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

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

2023

The Echo of Picasso
Almine Rech, New York

L’Art informel: le Signe et le Geste – 1950–1970
Opera Gallery, Paris


2022

Dialogues
Almine Rech

Arte, Milan (with Enrico Baj Dellupi)

Herzstücke. The Kunsthalle Collection
Kunsthalle 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


2020

Degree Zero. Drawing at Midcentury
MoMA, New York

Pure Abstraction
Flint Institute of Arts, Flint

CoBrA e origini
Dellupi Arte, Milan

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


2018

Wildnis
Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt/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/Main

110 Years 110 Works
Museo de Bellas Artes de 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

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

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


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


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 

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

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


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 


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


Publications


Karel Appel

Galerie Max Hetzler Berlin | Paris | London / Holzwarth Publications, Berlin 2023
With texts and a chronology by Franz Kaiser

€ 60.00

Karel Appel: Encounter in Spring and what follows

Exhibition Poster
2023

€ 15.00

Karel Appel: Object Paintings

Exhibition Poster
2021

€ 20.00

Selected Press


Holland Herald February 2019

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Whitehot Magazine October 2017

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Les Inrockuptibles July 2017

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The Washington Post June 2016

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The New York Times February 2016

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The New York Times February 2016

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