Karel Appel (1921–2006) was born in Amsterdam. Having first picked up a paintbrush as a fifteen year old when receiving painting lessons from his artist uncle, he quickly excelled. Following the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940, Appel applied to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. While he was keen to pursue his artistic education, a place at the academy would also exempt Appel from forced labor in service of the Nazis. It was at the academy that he met the artist Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo (1922–2010), known as Corneille, who would become a great artistic companion and a fellow future co-founder of CoBrA. In 1944, Appel was suspected of aiding those fleeing Nazi forced labour and eventually had to flee Amsterdam, disappearing into hiding until the end of the war.
Appel and Corneille were joined in their intellectual partnership by Constant Anton Neiwenhys, known as Constant (1920–2005). The three engage in the emerging post-war artistic world of abstraction and experimentation. They were invited to Copenhagen in 1948 by Danish artist Asger Jorn (1914–1973) to participate in the annual Høst exhibition, a meeting point for avant-garde artists in the Danish scene at this time. Their collaboration blossomed from there, forming the group CoBrA along with Belgian poet Christian Dotremont, named after the founder’s cities; Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam. Inspired by the work of Paul Klee and Joan Miró, the group prized intuitive artmaking, using bright, unmixed colours and drawing on folk tales and child-like symbols. In 1951, after a short but influential tenure, CoBrA disbanded.
Following this, Appel had his international breakthrough after the Director of the Guggenheim encountered his work at his first solo exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels in 1953. This led to the Guggenheim acquiring two of his works for the collection, and including his work in a survey exhibition of new European painting. In 1954, he exhibited at the influential Martha Jackson Gallery in New York, and represented the Netherlands at the Venice Biennale, winning the UNESCO prize. He had arrived on the international stage.
A 1957 trip to the United States led Appel to new heights of success, in his art and in his career. He encountered abstract expressionists like Willem de Kooning and jazz musicians like Miles Davis as well as influential international Museum directors. The improvisational nature of both abstract expressionist work and jazz music built on his interest in instinctive art making. In this period he created monumental canvases and applied paint by throwing it onto the canvas and completed many murals for public spaces, including at the Stedelijk Museum. Appel spent the rest of his life living abroad, continuing to experiment throughout his career.
Appel’s works can be found in prominent collections globally, including at the Centre Pompidou, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, as well as in all major Dutch public collections.