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"SE 35 - 04" by Alfred Gockel
Limited edition
Signed & Numbered
Edition Size - 250
"Availability/Prices subject to change.
Please call 866-fine-art (866-346-3278) for additional information."
ALFRED ALEXANDER GOCKEL
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 his travels, Gockel has had the opportunity to meet Salvador Dali and Antonio Tŕpies, 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."
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.
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