Biography & Press

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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.

The early years

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

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.

Nowadays

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).

Selected Exhibitions

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

bilboard exhibition3 exhibition2 exhibition

– Midi Libre (FR) – juillet 13

midilibre

– 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

 

Press

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