etching with aquatint, edition of 130, image 7 5/8" x 115/8", white paper 13 3/4" x 19 1/2", signed by the artist
etching with aquatint, edition of 130, image 7 5/8" x 11 5/8", white paper 14 1/8" x 19 5/8", signed by the artist
etching and aquatint, edition of 130, image 7 7/8" x 11 1/8", white paper 14 1/8" x 19 1/2", signed by the artist,
etching and aquatint, edition of 130,image 20 1/8" x 16 1/8", white paper 26 1/2" x 19 1/2", signed by the artist
etching and aquatint, edition of 130, image 19 1/2" x 12 7/8", white paper 26 1/2" x 19 1/2", signed by the artist
„„I listen to what‘s going on in my head, whether it‘s pleasant or not. Then I transfer it onto a piece of paper. And then I give it to the world. There are people who like it, who find something in it that speaks to them. Through my work I discover something for myself, even certain knowledge. For example, [Jan Amos] Komenský´s Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart is a wonderful book, absolutely contemporary and timeless. Or, now I’m working on Apollinaire. Of course, musicians, poets or artists, insecure soul seekers, are close to my heart. What they pursue corresponds with what I myself experience.““
Karel Demel | born 1942 in Prague
Curator Alena Laufrova:
Karel Demel uses etching and aquatint to create fascinating compositions by virtue of technical mastery. His works are the result of tremendous concentration and effort to express his life philosophy both for himself as well as for the world. Demel’s work covers a wide range of themes: as a professional musician, he naturally draws inspiration from music; he is inspired by women in many different ways; and he explores the complicated nature of human life and fate. Karel Demel is an artist - philosopher who contemplates the elementary questions of human existence. His images draw viewers into a complex labyrinth of allegories, indications, quotations and references. His prints with exquisite drawings, tangles of velvet aquatint surfaces and fascinating combinations of real and imaginary elements offer intriguing stories full of imagination and mystery.
Resume (selection)
> 1957 - 1963 Demel studied music at the Prague Conservatory
> 1968 - 1974 University of Applied Arts in Prague, Illustration and Book Arts Department, Zdenek Sklenar Studio. Master thesis "Six Poems on Love".
> 1975 first solo show in the Borkowski Gallery, Hannover, Germany
> 1992 international residency at Poitiers, France
> 1993 & 1994 international residency in Kasterlee, Belgium
> 1995 leading a printmaking workshop in Epreuve Artiste Gallery in Antwerp, Netherlands
> 1998 participating in the International Painting Pleinair, Pardubice, Czech Republic
Representation in public collections
A. Baruch Gallery, Chicago, USA
Galerie Epreuve Artiste, Antwerp, Netherlands
National Gallery, Prague, the Czech Republic
Gallery of the Capital City of Prague, the Czech Republic
Ales South Bohemian Gallery, Hluboka, the Czech Republic
Book-plates Cabinet, Chrudim, the Czech Republic
National Literature Museum, Prague, the Czech Republic
Ostrava state gallery, Ostrava, the Czech Republic
Muzeum zamkowe, Malbork, Poland
Musee 2000, Luxembourg
Sint Niklaas, Museum book-plates, Belgium
Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia
Solo exhibitions (selection)
1997 Berlin, Rahmen Gallery
1996 Slany, Ikaros Gallery
1995 Bratislava, Slovakia, Brunovsky Gallery
1994 France, Chamaliere
1994 Belgium, Antwerp, Epreuve Artiste Gallery
1993 Germany, Sommerhausen, Rottenturn Gallery
1993 Nuremberg, Weigl Gallery
1992 Belgium, Zandhoven, Artburhome Gallery
1992 Prague, Platyz Gallery
1991 Brussels, Fondation Internat, Jacques Brel
1990 Great Britain, Leeds, Czechoslovak Cultural Centre
1989 Netherlands, Hague, Nebti Gallery
1989 Belgium, Affligem, Cultural Center
1982 Germany, Ulm, Aegis Graphik Kabinet
1975 Germany, Hannover, Borkowski Gallery
1975 Belgium, Wieze, Elias Gallery