Born: Melbourne 1956
Education
Studied under Clifton Pugh, Jeff Makin, Dale Hickey and Ernest Buckmaster
Herman has a Fine Arts Degree from RMIT and a Diploma of Teaching Melbourne University
History
Herman began painting by the early age of eight and held his first solo exhibition whilst still in his teens. He spent three years studying and painting in Amsterdam and London, where he encountered the works of Constable, Turner and Rembrandt. This impressed him and influenced his own work. On returning to Melbourne in 1982 he began studying for his fine arts degree at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Dale Hickey, Jeff Makin and Clifton Pugh are just a few of the contemporary artists under which Herman studied. This cultivated his appreciation of contemporary art, as well as experimentation with abstract impressionism.
The influences of the Australian and European impressionist movements are obvious in Herman Pekel’s work, where the emphasis is in technique, and the message portrayed is always:
“It’s not what you paint, but how you paint it. I’ve painted almost everything - landscapes, street scenes, industrial scenes, interiors of bars and cafes. I feel inspired before I paint and quite often I can’t wait to paint. I hope my paintings are not just illustrations, but reflect a deep insight into the subject. Some of my works may reflect the beauty I see in nature and the passion of using paint, whether transparent watercolour or opaque oil paint. A painting with integrity speaks for itself, and I prefer to dwell on purity, intuition, and integrity."
"I’ve always had this conflict with myself thinking, 'God, I'm only a traditional painter. It's been done a hundred times before.' And now I think, Well it has been done a hundred times before but if it has artistic integrity it doesn't matter, and artistic integrity is something that's very hard to explain. I don't know how to put it, you see a painting and even though you know the subject and it's been done a hundred times before, let's say a plain old apple, it's the way it's painted, the feeling in the painting, the brush strokes, the paint quality, everything about it that sets it apart. Quite often modern work hits you with a bang but really it's very shallow if it's taken any further and quite often doesn't stand the test of time."
Three times winner of the coveted Camberwell Art Prize and twice winner of the Alice Bale award, this multi award winning artist paints with an enthusiasm that is well recognised overseas as well as in Australia. Apart from these notable prizes Herman has won approximately 90 major awards.
In 1994 the National Taiwan Art Institute asked Herman to participate in a book and travelling exhibition, with selected artists from Australia, USA and Taiwan. His works are featured in the books 'Australian Impressionist and Realist artists', which features Australian artists and was compiled by Tom Roberts. '120 Years of Watercolours' by the Australian Realist Artists. 'Artists and Galleries of Australia and New Zealand' by Max Germaine, and 'Profile on Contemporary Watercolours'.
Herman Pekel is a highly collectable artist whose career is firmly established both within Australia and overseas. He holds sell-out exhibitions annually in the USA and his works are represented in many private and corporate collections.
Selected Exhibitions
Mahoneys Galleries, Melbourne: Jenny Pihan Fine Art, Frankston, Victoria; Red Hill Gallery Brisbane; Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art San Antonio, Texas; Bruce Watling Galleries QLD; Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney; Artamon Gallery Sydney
Selected Awards:
1995 Camberwell Rotary's Gold Medal Watercolour Prize
1993 Camberwell Rotary's Gold Medal Watercolour Prize
1993 Alice Bale Award
1989 Camberwell Travel Grant
1989 Camberwell Rotary's Gold Medal Watercolour Prize
1989 Alice Bale Award
1988 Wesley Art Judged by Director of the National Gallery
1987 Mountbatten Award
Selected Collections
Artbank, National Leasing Collection-Canberra, Nillumbik Art Collection,
Royal Overseas League London
|
