About the artist
Alexander Vogels was born in Heerlen in 1952. After spending his youth in Australia, Alexander Vogels attended the Academy of Visual Arts in Maastricht. He learned painting at, then, the City Academy with Gilbert de Bontridder and Peter Wehrens. He is the classic example of an artist who manifests himself in his work as a passionate traveller. Civilisations that place great value on tradition, magic, rituals and symbolism can count on his unconditional attention and preference. He has travelled through the North African Tassili Mountains and visited several Indian reservations. His interest in primitive cultures is interesting, but more importantly, he is an exceptionally gifted artist. He has had numerous exhibitions and trade fair presentations. From Mallorca to Stockholm, from Vienna and Frankfurt to Salamanca and Paris, his work can be found in important art collections. His inspirations shape his work but it is his way of painting that makes him so fascinating. The materialisation of the intangible, the handling of the paint, the adventurous struggle with colour with which he effortlessly succeeds in evoking original and positive feelings. Alexander Vogels is a lyrical-abstract painter pur sang. For Alexander, however, figuration is not a goal but only a support to the colour composition. Frequently recurring elements such as ladder, mask and vehicle are not symbols but playful building blocks that give a hold on the abstract play of colours. Every artist has a father and a mother: according to Alexander, for him these were Kandinsky and especially Ger Lataster, two greats in the art of painting. Confronted with this statement, Lataster responded: "But he has solved it in his own way". With the word `t`, the master aptly phrased the universal problem of the artist. Through his canvases (often in large format) Alexander Vogels gives us an intensive account of his spiritual journey to the essence of the art of painting.