Raised Flower Bed Lining

"Appel Circus" is a mosaic of bits and pieces of smaller sub paintings, which the eccentric and almost rebellious Dutch artist Karel Appel carried out between 1976 and 1978. Karel's this competent work has been a defining piece of art, a la Monalisa. "Appel Circus" is a "Modern Expressionist" work that was a rage during the flower power years of the late Seventies.

Karel Appel was born on April 25, 1921, in Amsterdam. He spent the better part of his teenage years in the time zone of the World Wars. After the mandatory artistic grounding at the Royal Academy between 1940 and 43, Karel, inspired by Jean Dubuffet , the French painter, jumped headlong into the raw expressive territory of 'Expressionist' space, which was already populated by the likes of Corneille and Pierre Alechinsky, Dutch and Belgian artists, respectively, of repute. They formed a group called "Cobra" in Paris. This group was solely committed to "de -intellectualizing" art. This meant that their works reflected a naivety and childishness, which was designed to wrench it from the artistic bourgeoisie. This was also called a "Folk Art" or even "Paleolithic Art" as there was a common thread of seemingly childish motifs of aborigines and cave men, dominating this art form.

In Paris, Appel developed a deep friendship with the famous art critic Michel Tapie, deliberately developing a very jagged, rough, and crude painting style, which flowered in his works like "Amorous Dance." A sample of Karel's blunt imagery surfaced when he painted a commissioned lunch hall mural in 1949 for Amsterdam City Hall. His work had to be covered up, as the workers could not have lunch below Appel's 'rude' masterpiece. However, his free and almost primitive style of artistry was a clean break from the structured European Art and won him several awards, including the UNESCO prize in 1954 and the first prize at Guggenheim International Exhibition (1950).

His swan song, the "Appel Circus" was an off shoot of his earlier experiments with bass relief and three dimensional mosaics, which started from 1966 when he moved to a small village outside Paris and then to New York in 1972. He began "Appel Circus," consisting of 30 color etchings and 15 painted wooden sculptures. Every single piece of the group was a small painting in itself and reflected the exuberant spirit of the 'Modern Expressionist' paradigm of which Appel was the hero. Apart from being iconic, "Appel Circus" represents a novel art movement. He died in Zurich on May 03, 2006.

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Is is also a venue for artists to display and sell their art . Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited. Please visit the website at Annette has bonus offers on her work only. Buy 3 small paintings of any size (maximum size 11x17 inches) and receive 3 small paintings of your choice for free (maximum size 11x17 inches) SHIPPING IS FREE Buy one large painting (minimum size 18x24 inches) receive 5 small paintings of your choice (maximum size 11x17 inches) FOR FREE. SHIPPING IS FREE. Please feel free to subscribe to her newsletter at