Attention!
- 24-06-2024
- 09:30 - 18:00
- Coert, Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
I just mess around
, Karel Appel said in an interview with Jan Vrijman in 1955. A few years later Vrijman made the documentary The Reality of Karel Appel
, which documents Karel Appel as he slashes and stabs at the canvas with great colorful globs of paint. It created the image of an artist who works spontaneously and purely from impulses. But is this the case?
Recent research into his working method and use of materials shows the opposite. There has been a change in the appreciation of his work. There is a renewed interest in Appel among young – mostly American – artists. On June 24, the work of Karel Appel will be central during the international symposium "Dispelling the Myth of 'Just Messing Around': New perspectives on Karel Appel’s use of materials and technique." Various experts shed light on his work, his use of paint and his painting technique and also discuss issues surrounding the conservation of his work.
Presenters
The list of presenters include:
- Joan Banach - artist, Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship for Painting
- Klaas Jan van den Berg - Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands | Rijkdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) / University of Amsterdam
- Ida A. T. Bronken - National Museum, Oslo
- Juliette Evezard - Université Jean Monnet Saint- Étienne
- Fahed Ibrahim - RCE
- Franz W. Kaiser - Karel Appel Foundation
- Hanspeter Marty - Kunsthaus Zürich
- Antonien Rijksen - Karel Appel Foundation
- Louise Wijnberg - conservator
For who?
The symposium – intended for art historians, researchers, conservators, restorers, among others - is a co-production of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Karel Appel Foundation and the RCE. It is part of the RCE's Heritage of the 20th Century research program, which focuses on the conservation and restoration of modern works of art.
Registration
Register on the website of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Detailed information, including costs and the programme can be found on their website as well.
Program
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 09.30 | Walk-in |
| 10.00 | Welcome by Ina Klaassen |
| 10.10 | ‘I start from my basic material – paint’. An introduction to the symposium Klaas Jan van den Berg |
| 10.40 | ‘Spontaneity’ as a common thread of the international avant-garde of the 1950s – origins, meaning and consequences for the conservation of paintings Franz Kaiser |
| 11.15 | Composing Images. Karel Appel’s use of drawings in the making of his paintings Antonien Rijksen |
| 11.40 | Establishing pieces of the material practices of Karel Appel. Investigation into soft oil paint from his Paris period, and critical issues on their future care Ida Bronken |
| 12.00 | Lunch (included) |
| 14.00 | The elusive Karel Appel Juliette Evezard |
| 14.25 | A closer look at the paintings of Karel Appel in the collection of the Boijmans Van Beuningen: The materials and painting techniques Louise Wijnberg |
| 14.50 | Notes on the materials’ use of Karel Appel in his paintings. House paints vs ‘high quality‘ artists’ paints Fahed Ibrahim |
| 15.15 | Break |
| 15.45 | Observations on painting technique Hanspeter Marty |
| 16.10 | Interview: Franz Kaiser, Joan Banach, Hans Peter Marty & Louis Wijnberg |
| 16.30 | Discussion |
| 17.00 | Drinks |
The symposium will be moderated by Sandra Kisters & Klaas Jan van den Berg.
About the presenters
American painter, living in in New York, who knew Karel Appel very well since the 1980ies, and who has often discussed with him in person issues related to paint, technique etc.
Conservator at the National Museum in Oslo, who investigates in her recent publication Soft Paint – And the Care of Painting (2023) the phenomenon of soft and dripping paint found in 20th century oil paintings – a challenge for both the conservator and curator.
Leader of the Heritage of the 20th Century programme of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and Professor of Conservation Science (Painted Art) at the University of Amsterdam. He will explain the details of the Dutch Cultural Heritage’s research program.
Post Doc researcher attached to the department Étude du Contemporain en Littérature, Langues, Arts of the Université Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne, who has published last year her study on Michel Tapié, an empresario of the Parisian avant-garde of the 1950ies, who was crucial for Appel’s international breakthrough. She will share the results of her recent research on Appel’s reception during his long period (1950-1976) in Paris.
Scientist at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and practicing artist, who will analyse Karel Appel’s materials’ use and the consequences for the interpretation and conservation of his early paintings.
International exhibition curator and publicist, Director of the Karel Appel Foundation, who will speak about Appel’s adaptation of New York School Abstract Expressionism and the difficulties involved with judging about what is a damage to be restored and what is to be considered as being part of the work.
Head of Collections and Research of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam (NL) and member of the Heritage of the 20th Century programme of the Cultural Heritage Agency.
Former painting conservator at the Kunsthaus Zürich, who has been working for the Karel Appel Foundation since 2005. He will share his experience of dealing with characteristic conservation issues concerning works by Karel Appel.
Deputy Director of the Karel Appel Foundation, who discovered that Karel Appel often used drawings as a starting point for certain paintings, which challenges the still dominant stereotype of a spontaneous painter.
Independent conservator since 2022, former painting conservator at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. For Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen she researched all the paintings of Karel Appel in the collection of this museum, focusing on the conservation related to the use of materials, techniques by Karel Appel with special interest in the Studio practice. She will share what she discovered.