Karl Gietl was born in Wocester, in the cape of South Africa in 1970. He grew up in the small mining town of Benoni on the East Rand and was schooled in the vibrant and turbulent city of Johannesburg during the ‘chaos’ of the mid eighties. Karl Gietl had his first solo exhibition of paintings in 1994.
In 1995 he was part of a group exhibition of south African artists (curated by artist Wayne Barker) in the museum of modern art in Santiago Chile. In 1998 Karl Gietl won first prize in the national ABSA atelier art awards which gave him the oppurtunity to live and work in the Cité internationale des arts in Paris for six months during 1999. Gietl however remained in Europe for three years. He lived, traveled and exhibited in Holland, Germany, Belgium and France. After a short stay in Spain, Gietl returned to South Africa in 2001.
Back home Gietl again embarked on a travel spree through South Africa and her neighboring countries, which gave rise to his large city scape series of 2004. From portraits of ‘cracked up’ prostitutes in the dingiest brothels in Hillbrow, to the prehistoric forests of ‘The Rain Queen’ in Mpumalanga. Gietl slept on the beaches of Mozambique.
In 2005 Gietl embarked on a series of touring exhibition that included every major city in southern Africa.
Karl Gietl now lives and contiues to work in the south of France.
A collection of short films produced and directed by Karl Gietl can also be found on youtube (Karl Gietl Channel).
2014
Pêche à la Sirène : serigraphies, Dock Sud, Sète, France : see the story here.
2013
Un Autre Monde, solo exhibition, chapelle du quartier haut, Sète, France
– Midi Libre (FR) – juillet 13
– Cozette (FR)
– Interview Thau TV (FR)
– Les Medias (FR)
– Cultureetsportsolidaire (FR)
– Interview Artsup (FR)
2011
Somewhere over the rainbow, solo exhibition, Afronova Gallery, Johannesbrug, South Africa
2009
Sète, girls & rock’n’roll, solo exhibition, galerie Dock Sud, Sète, France
“Le Sète de Karl Gietl
De par ses origines, Karl Gietl qui vient d’Autriche a une peinture lourde, violente, expressionniste qui lui coule dans les veines. Mais c’est en Afrique du Sud où il naît en 1970 qu’il ouvre les yeux pour ne jamais plus les refermer.
Ses yeux en voient de toutes les couleurs, dans les faubourgs de Johannesburg et ailleurs. Il ne lui reste plus qu’à vivre et à peindre avec la même intensité que ce qui se passe autour de lui. Pendant des années, il voyage dans le monde. Il peint beaucoup et installe sur ses toiles l’univers des villes qu’il traverse, qu’il hante et qui l’habitent. Barcelone, Maputo, Paris, Bruxelles, Durban… Et maintenant Sète.
Il fait tourner les images avec la musique et les cris. Ses yeux sont injectés de couleurs. La peinture lui coule comme un alcool dans les veines. Avec ses pinceaux, il nous en fait voir de toutes les couleurs. Il nous en fait voir de toutes les douleurs. Il nous fait rire aussi. Et on ressent plein d’autres choses quand il peint les cuisses et le ventre des femmes. C’est dire que la ville de Sète lui va comme un gant, il s’est glissé dedans. Il y promène la caméra de ses yeux. Il y écoute la musique et les cris. Les images tournent avec lui. Il y vit, il y peint. Depuis qu’il est là, un nouveau Sète existe qu’on n’avait pas vu auparavant en peinture, le Sète de Karl Gietl.
Pierre Tilman”
A Series of Travels, solo exhibition, Afronova Gallery, Johannesbrug, South Africa
2008
One for the road, solo exhibition, Afronova Gallery, Johannesbrug, South Africa
2007
Afronism, group show, Afronova Gallery, Johannesbrug, South Africa
Double 007, Group show, Polokwane art museum, Polokwane, South Africa
Myths and memories, solo exhibition, Villa Arcadia, Johannesburg, South Africa
2006
A search for Paradise, solo exhibition, Afronova Gallery, Johannesbrug, South Africa
2005
City people mythologies, touring solo exhibition, Johannesburg, South Africa, Mbabane/Swaziland, Maputo/ Mozambique, Cape Town, South Africa
2004
Identity, Group exhibition, Circus Theater, Bildenburg, Holland
2003
Bringing it All Back, solo exhibition, Joao Ferreira fine Art, Cape Town, South Africa
The Fun Never Sets, two man show with Wayne Barker, Everard Read contemporary, Johannesburg, South Africa
Twenty Four Seven, Group exhibition/residence Project, Johannesburg art gallery, South Africa
2002
You can get There from Here, solo exhibition, Rembrandt van Rijn Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
I Lost my Heart in Troyeville, solo exhibition, Spaza art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2001
There is no Place like Home, solo exhibition, Sterkwerk gallery, Tilburg, Holland
Neither Here nor There, solo exhibition, Gallery Doreen Dierckx, Antwerp, Belgium
2000
Body and Soul, solo exhibition, Moba art gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Hanging Around, Group exhibition, Kunstcentrum, Sittard, Holland
Dress Code, Group exhibition, Gallery 1646, Den Haag, Holland
1999
Artol: Labor 6, Group exhibition/workshop, Bedburg-Hau/Kleve, Germany
It’s a Small World after All, solo exhibition, Joao Ferreira Fine Art, Cape Town, South Africa
1998
A Day in the Life, Absa L’Atelier award, first prize, Polokwane art museum, South Africa
1997
Safe Passage, solo fringe exhibition, 2nd Johannesburg biennale, South Africa
1996
One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety Six, installation piece, Rembrandt van Rijn Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Marchons!, group exhibition, French Institute of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa
Unplugged, group exhibition, Rembrandt van Rijn gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
1995
FIG Again, group exhibition, Famous international gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Four Rooms, group exhibition, The Johannesburg civic gallery, South Africa
Spring Time in Chile, group exhibition, Contemporary Museum of Modern Art, Santiago, Chile
Brown and Green, group exhibition, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa