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Karel Appel

Heads in Space (Abstraction)

1958

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*** Recently conserved with funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. *** Karel Appel was one of the principal organizers of Cobra, an international group of artists formed immediately after World War II and dedicated to the free expression of artistic ideas. In response to the trauma of war, members rejected any preconceived principles of style, emulating instead the immediacy of experience found in the primordial and the primitive, in children’s art and the art of the insane. Championing these practices provided a way at once to register the horror of the past and to disavow it. In this work, Appel employs a bright palette, a furiously expressive style, and extreme impasto to depict two abstracted heads. The artist’s unfettered application of paint becomes as much the subject of this artwork as the figurative elements portrayed. Although painted years after the official dissolution of Cobra, Heads in Space demonstrates the artist’s continued explorations into gestural expressions of human vitality and spirit. [Permanent collection label, 2015]

  • Artist Karel Appel (Dutch, 1921–2006)
  • Title Heads in Space (Abstraction)
  • Date 1958
  • Medium Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions unframed | 51 1/4 x 78 1/16 in.
  • Credit line Gift of Richard K. Weil, 1963
  • Copyright © Karel Appel Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Object number WU 4123

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1963
Richard K. Weil, St. Louis

Inscription

This artwork record may be incomplete or need refinement. Our staff actively researches the collection and revises records when new information is available. If you have questions or comments about this record, please contact us.

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