“The tactile quality of impasto oil paint, its smell, the feel, had me addicted when only twelve years old. Forty years later, the addiction has grown into an obsession. The subject for me, personally is less consequential than the simple matter of applying paint to canvas. As long as the shapes within the picture plane harmonise with one another the addiction can continue.” – Herman Pekel.
Herman Pekel was born in Melbourne in 1956 of Dutch parents. Herman’s first solo art exhibition was held in Melbourne at the age of 17 and was a sell-out success. Herman’s tonal works in oil and watercolour range from city to landscapes, to café and bar interiors, to dynamic industrial scenery. They all demonstrate the best of contemporary impressionism. Herman is a multi-awarded painter: a three-time winner of the coveted Camberwell Gold Medal Art Prize and a winner of the prestigious Alice Bale Award in 1989 and 1993. Herman is a longstanding member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society. Herman is a painter with immense talent and insight, and continues to actively exhibit across Australia and internationally.