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Check out the latest additions
to the A.D. LINES - EUROGROUP Catalog!
For information about Alfred A. Gockel Open Editions, Originals, Limited Editions, or Giclees, please contact
Angela or Julie at A.D. LINES, Inc. 800-836-0994, FAX 203-880-9598.
Browse Alfred Gockel prints from the A.D. LINES catalog.
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 Alfred Alexander Gockel is an
artist who can't sit still. While his paintings show a fluidity of color,
character, and setting, the man himself likes to keep the creative process
going by not even taking the time out to let one canvas dry before working
on another. In fact, he regularly works on four paintings at the same time.
All are displayed before him and he moves from one to the next to the next
and back again. "My aim is to paint harmony," he says. And many would agree
that symmetry is something that Gockel is very good at.
Born in 1952 in the coal mining community of Lüdinghausen in
Germany, Gockel lived with his parents and younger brother. At age four, his
father bought him a watercolor set for Christmas after noticing that he was
sketching a lot. While the surroundings may have been dark, and somewhat
grim, his father knew that through art his son could put his dreams down
onto paper. Both of his parents were creative, his father being a designer
and his mother making lots of crafts. By age eight, he had his first release
of artwork by a German publisher. "We did not have a lot of money when I was
growing up," Gockel says. "My parents would take me to the zoo and I would
sit down and paint for hours. They really inspired me to be an artist."
 At the age of 16, Gockel started working in the coalmines,
and was focusing on becoming an engineer. Then, the mining industry
collapsed leaving Gockel's family and neighbors without a livelihood. The
widespread unemployment forced him into the army where he spent
two-and-a-half years. He then went on to study art and design at the
Polytechnic Academy in Münster where he specialized in the printing process
of silk-screens and lithographs. Freelance work as a designer after
graduation led to working with some of Germany's major advertising agencies,
all the while painting and making silk-screens.
In 1980 Gockel, now married, returned to the Polytechnic
Academy, this time as a teacher where he spent four-and-a-half years. In
1983, he started his own publishing company called Avant Art in his
birthplace of Lüdinghausen where he still publishes his own prints and
limited edition silk-screens worldwide, bar the U.S. By 1985, Gockel had
stopped teaching and focused on his art fulltime. He also realized that he
wanted to see more of the world. "I decided I wanted to work outside of
Germany as well," he says. "I started out doing a show in England, then one
in New York."
 "I didn't know any of the rules in America and I had trouble
making sales there at first." After four years of exhibiting in the U.S.,
Gockel med A.D. LINES located in Bridgeport, CT, and it was agreed they
would handle his open edition prints and limited edition serigraphs in the
U.S. The company taught him about business in America, and helped him to
develop a persona that would catch an art collector's eye. "You always have
to have a concept and you have to keep it simple. I like to perform and
since it usually only takes between two to four hours to complete a
painting, we decided that I would be the 'artist who paints live.'"
Gockel started participating in more art shows to paint and
interact with the audience. Working at almost break-neck speed, Gockel has
been known to create up to 400 originals a year.
"Painting is like tennis," he says. "You have to practice a
lot and you have to practice everyday. With my artwork, I cannot get a
feeling or idea and keep it for four weeks. I work on it and don't stop. I
leave the studio when it's ready."
While Gockel works very closely with his company Avant Art, his wife of 30
years, Ingrid, also plays a big role in the business. "She's the financial
person, I'm the creative."
Working in oil and acrylic on canvas, and occasionally in aquarelles, or
transparent watercolor, his originals and limited edition giclées are only
one part of his business. The other consists of graphics featuring more
decorative images. Avant Art sells open edition prints to 50 different
countries, not counting the U.S.
"For open editions, I usually paint subjects like flowers, but for originals
and commissions, I need to be influenced by something. I like to meet the
people who hire me to do a painting because that way I can get a feeling for
them."
 In his travels, Gockel has had the opportunity to meet Salvador Dali and
Antonio Tàpies, and has been influenced by the work of Joan Miró and Pablo
Picasso. Upon traveling to the U.S., he became aware of the work of Jasper
Johns and Jackson Pollock. "It's very important to see the other side of
this art. I like the Americans' work because it seemed more open. In my
paintings, I try to combine the language of the Old Masters with the
language of what we have developed today."
And as far as inspiration for his paintings, Gockel merely gets on a plane
and visits a new location. "I travel a lot in a year and that's how I get
most of my ideas. It's like when you got to an Indian restaurant, you get a
different taste and smell, and you also get to meet different people."
When not painting, running Avant Art, or traveling Gockel keeps active by
playing tennis and soccer, going skiing, cooking or riding one of his three
Harley Davidson motorcycles. Also, following his love of cooking, he throws
a fundraiser three times a year in which he rents out a restaurant and cooks
for a reception that raises money for different charities.
Gockel's originals retail between $4,000 and $10,000, while the giclées
range in price from $400 to $1,000. Retail prices for open edition prints
range from $7 to $85. For more information contact Angela or Julie at A.D.
Lines, call (800) 836-0994
- Excerpt from article by Koleen Kaffan, Art World News, June 2003 |
FAX: (203) 880-9598