Karel Appel, Dutch 1921-2006- Single Figure, 11; mixed media on...

Karel Appel, Dutch 1921-2006- Single Figure, 11; mixed media on paper, laid down on canvas, signed on lower right, 37 x 19cm (ARR) Provenance: The Redfern Gallery, London, where purchased by F. Manzi in 1966; Dreweatts, London, 3 April 2019 Lot 223, where purchased by the present owner. Note: This piece is a typical work by the Dutch-born artist Karel Appel (1921-2006), distinguished, among other things, by its bright primary colours, used alongside thick lines of black paint. This work resembles much of Appel’s output through its depiction of abstract figurative forms through bold brushstrokes, which imbues the artwork with an arresting sense of energy and dynamism. This work demonstrates the freedom of expression which is a constant feature of Appel’s output, and which has seen the artist associated with the abstract expressionist group of contemporary New York, with whose art Appel’s works certainly share considerable qualities. Mixed-media artworks, like this piece, form some of Appel’s most recognisable images, and have been the subject of a number of exhibitions. They can be seen in an exhibition of Appel’s works on paper at the Galerie Charles Lienhard in Zurich in 1962, and the Redfern Gallery. The apparent childlike quality of Appel’s mixed-media work is also a key characteristic of his works on paper, such as those which were the subject of an exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris (21 October 2015 - 11 January 2016), and the Museum of Modern art in Munich (4 February - 17 April 2016). It is this feature which gives this piece such a strong sense of innocence, freedom and uninhibited emotion. Appel was a member of the short-lived but undoubtedly influential Cobra group of European artists, and later exhibited his work with that of Willem de Kooning, Jean Dubuffet, and Jackson Pollock.