Karel Appel

Danse d'espace avant la tempête [Dance in Space before the Storm]

About this artwork

This painting was made shortly after Appel had seen the work of the abstract expressionist artist (and fellow Dutchman) Willem de Kooning, while on a trip to America. Appel's painting suggests spontaneity and directness. Some of the paint has been squeezed onto the canvas directly from the tube and other areas have been smudged with his hands. The painting is an explosion of colour and movement, with an ominous black mass at either end of the canvas suggesting the threatening storm.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Karel Appel (1921 - 2006) Dutch
  • title:
    Danse d'espace avant la tempête [Dance in Space before the Storm]
  • date created:
    1959
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    129.50 x 161.90 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Purchased 1962
  • accession number:
    GMA 815
  • gallery:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Karel Appel

Karel Appel