 Alfred Alexander Gockel was born in the North Rhine city of Ludinhausen, Germany in 1952. From his earliest days, he was fascinated by the magic of colors on paper. This talent and enthusiasm resulted in the release of his first work of art by a German publisher at the age of 8.
In 1973 he began his studies in the field of design, with emphasis on typography, graphic design and advertising. After graduating with honors at the Polytechnic Institute in Munster, Germany in 1977, Alex Gockel went on to lecture at the Institute about typography and graphic design. After making a firm decision in 1980 to dedicate all of his time to painting, Gockel honed in on his skills and developed his identifiable, signature style known today.
With expressive use of rich, primary colors, Gockel has created an exceptional style that is undeniably unique. His fluid strokes on large white canvas backgrounds, done in the manner of “action painting” have a tremendous universal appeal. It is no wonder that over the last decade, well over 2 million open-edition prints have been sold in the U.S. art market alone. This incredible exposure has created a demand for this artist’s original works, spawning high-profile collectors such as Michael Jordan, who now owns several Gockel paintings.
Alex Gockel currently resides in his native Germany, and in his spare time enjoys playing tennis, and riding his Harley-Davidson through the German countryside.
Alfred Alexander Gockel is an artist who can't sit still. While his paintings show a fluidity of color, character, and setting, the man himself likes to keep the creative process going by not even taking the time out to let one canvas dry before working on another. In fact, he regularly works on four paintings at the same time. All are displayed before him and he moves from one to the next to the next and back again. "My aim is to paint harmony," he says. And many would agree that symmetry is something that Gockel is very good at.
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 1980 Gockel, now married, returned to the Polytechnic Academy, this time as a teacher where he spent four-and-a-half years. In 1983, he started his own publishing company called Avant Art in his birthplace of Lüdinghausen where he still publishes his own prints and limited edition silk-screens. By 1985, Gockel had stopped teaching and focused on his art fulltime. He also realized that he wanted to see more of the world. "I decided I wanted to work outside of Germany as well," he says. "I started out doing a show in England, then one in New York."
"I didn't know any of the rules in America and I had trouble making sales there at first." After four years of exhibiting in the U.S., Gockel met with A.D. LINES located in Bridgeport, CT, and it was agreed they would handle his open edition prints. MAC Fine Art is the exclusive publisher of limited editions on canvas, and the distributor of his original paintings in the U.S. He has learned a great deal about doing business in America, and has developed a style that is admired by many savvy art collectors. "You always have to have a concept and you have to keep it simple. I like to perform and since it usually only takes between two to four hours to complete a painting, we decided that I would be the 'artist who paints live.'"
Gockel started participating in more art shows to paint and interact with the audience. Working at almost break-neck speed, Gockel has been known to create up to 400 originals a year.
"Painting is like tennis," he says. "You have to practice a lot and you have to practice everyday. With my artwork, I cannot get a feeling or idea and keep it for four weeks. I work on it and don't stop. I leave the studio when it's ready."
While Gockel works very closely with his company Avant Art, his wife of 30 years, Ingrid, also plays a big role in the business. "She's the financial person, I'm the creative."
Working in oil and acrylic on canvas, and occasionally in aquarelles, or transparent watercolor, his originals and limited edition giclées are one part of his business. The other consists of graphics featuring more decorative images, and masterful serigraphs, lithographs and etchings sold primarily in Europe. Avant Art sells open edition prints to 50 different countries, not counting the U.S.
In his travels, Gockel has had the opportunity to meet Salvador Dali and Antonio Tàpies, 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."
And as far as inspiration for his paintings, Gockel merely gets on a plane and visits a new location. "I travel a lot in a year and that's how I get most of my ideas. It's like when you got to an Indian restaurant, you get a different taste and smell, and you also get to meet different people."
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 hosts a fundraiser three times a year in which he rents out an entire restaurant and cooks for a reception that raises money for different charities.
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