Karl A. Meyer
Karl Andreas Meyer | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 23, 1958 |
| Known for | Painting, Sculpture |
| Website | karlmeyer |
Karl Andreas Meyer (born July 23, 1958) also known as KAM, is a Swiss painter and sculptor from Basel.
Life and work
[edit]Karl A. Meyer came from a family that owned a printing business. Aware of their son's sensibilities, his parents sent Meyer to a Rudolf Steiner school, where he adopted an interest in geology and biology, as well as art and dance. He reluctantly went on to study law and business but also studied at the Basel School for Applied Art.[1]
Karl A. Meyer began his artistic career in New York City as a 22 year old in 1980.[1][2] His early works included large-scale woodcuts inspired by Hopi iconography.[3] At this time, the East Village art movement was emerging,[4] in which Meyer participated through exhibitions and publications. He shared a studio at Crosby 66 with Roland Hagenberg and occasionally other artists such as Claudio Knöpfli.[5][6]
Since 2010, KAM has taken part in the Raiding Project, initiated by Roland Hagenberg,[7] where he exhibited alongside artists including Hiroshi Hara,[8] Ai Weiwei, and Terunobu Fujimori. One of his notable contributions to this project was Cloud of Humanity, an installation of 15,000 clay figurines that has been presented in several exhibitions in Austria and abroad. From this project large-scale sculptures developed, such as Birdman, which was installed in 2015 in Raiding, the birthplace of Franz Liszt.[9]
KAM's work is characterized by large-scale woodcuts and recurring symbolic motifs. From 1986 he started painting on sheets of lead, sometimes first exposing the sheets to rain water or soft drinks, to create patterns from oxidization, and then painting on the sheets in blue-turquoise acrylic.[1] He draws on the art of North American Indigenous cultures,[10] particularly petroglyphs, which influenced his early woodcut works.[11][12] His practice explores the function of idols as intermediaries between artist, artwork, and audience. Meyer often employs universal symbols intended to evoke associations across cultural contexts.[13] Repetition of figures and symbols forms a central element in his woodcuts and drawings. According to Meyer, the significance of his work lies in direct aesthetic experience rather than analytical interpretation.[14][1]
KAM has traveled extensively in the United States, particularly New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, to study Indigenous culture and philosophies. These influences contributed to the development of his artistic perspective. Later, his work was shaped by experiences in the Babilônia favela in Rio de Janeiro, where he engaged with the local community. During this period, he produced the Kaleidoscope Rio project, which combined photography with social themes, documenting everyday life in the favela and exploring social and cultural contrasts.[15][16]
Selected Exhibitions
[edit]Solo Exhibitions
[edit]- 1987: Karl A. Meyer Works, Littmann Gallery, Basel
- 1987: Karl A. Meyer – Bilder, Zeichnungen und persische Miniaturen, Ittingen Charterhouse, Canton of Thurgau, Switzerland[17]
- 1988: Karl A. Meyer, Not Vital. Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York[18][1]
- 2013: Hiroshi Hara and Karl A. Meyer, Raiding Project, Raiding, Austria
- 2014: Birdman, Installation, Raiding Foundation, Austria
- 2014: Africa, 5000 clay ships, Raiding Foundation, Austria
- 2016: Ein Schiff wird kommen, Installation, Raiding Foundation, Austria
- 2018: Favela Portraits, Polaroid Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro[19]
- 2024: RIO Love an Life in Times of Executions – Favela Portraits (Art Miami) Licht Feld Gallery, Basel[20]
- 2025: Koyaanisqatsi – Hopi: Life out of Balance, filter4, Basel[12]
Group exhibitions
[edit]- 1984: Large Works, with Edward Brezinski, Roni Horn, Hunt Slonem and others, Brabara Braathen Gallery, New York
- 1985: East Village Funktional, with Kenny Scharf, Rhonda Zwillinger, Mark Kostabi and others, Rosa Esman Gallery, New York
- 1985: Art against AIDS, with Arman, Christo, Mark DiSuvero, Tom Butter and others, Rosa Esman Gallery, New York
- 1986: Children's Coloring Book Drawings for UNICEF, group exhibition with Keith Haring, Richard Serra, Tom Wesselmann, Christo, Richard Hambleton and others, Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York
- 1986: Artists of Barbara Braathen Gallery, with Donald Lipski, Ed Brezinski, Hunt Slonem and others, The Limelight, New York
- 1987: Multiple Visions – East Village Artists, with Rhonda Wall, Philip Pocock, Rick Prol, Paul Benny, Richard Hambleton and others, Art Now Gallery, Gothenbourg
- 2001: Lichtfeld 1, 30 Artistic Positions, Central Switzerland Platform for Contemporary Art, Sulzer-Burckhardt-Areal Gundeldinger Feld, Basel[21]
- 2001: Holzschnitt heute, Mühlestall Allschwil, Switzerland[22]
- 2003: Licht Feld 3, Gundeldinger Feld, Basel, Switzerland[23]
- 2004: Licht Feld 4: Kunst aus der Schweiz, Deutschland und Österreich, Basel, Switzerland[24]
- 2013: Biennale Licht Feld, Basel, Switzerland
- 2013: Kunstfabrik Groß Siegharts, Wien, Austria
Selected Publications
[edit]- Hagenberg, Roland, ed. (1986). Happy Happy – A childrens' coloring book by contemporary artists. New York: Egret Publications. p. 15.
- Hagenberg, Roland; Meyer, Karl A., eds. (2013). RIO – Love and Life in Times of Executions. Polaroids and Poems. Berlin: Art In Flow. ISBN 978-3-938457-45-0.
- Hagenberg, Roland; Meyer, Terunobu; Fujimori, Karl A.; Hara, Hiroshi, eds. (2019). Raiding Project - Ten Fabulous Years. Berlin: Art In Flow. ISBN 978-3-938457-46-7.
- Hagenberg, Roland; Meyer, Karl A., eds. (2022). Crosby Street. Berlin: Art In Flow. ISBN 978-3-938457-47-4.
External links
[edit]- Official website Archived 20 May 2024 at the Wayback Machine
- Literature by and about Karl A. Meyer in the German National Library catalogue
- "Meyer, Karl A." SIKART Lexicon on art in Switzerland.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Ardalan de Weck, Ziba (1988). "Karl A. Meyer, Not Vital. (exhibition catalogue)" (PDF). New York: Swiss Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 May 2025. Retrieved 30 October 2025 – via Contemporary Art Library.
- ^ Freundlieb, Niggi (7 May 1989). "Karl A. Meyer (31): Ein Maler zwischen New York und Basel" [Karl A. Meyer (31): A painter between New York and Basel]. Blick. Basel: Ringier AG, Ringier Medien Schweiz.
- ^ "Karl A. Meyer". galerien-thayaland.at (in German). Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ Hagenberg, Roland (1985). "Eastvillage : A Guide. A Documentary". specificobject.com. New York: Pelham Press. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ W., G. (9 July 1985). "Künstlergemeinschaft Crosby Street. Die beiden Schweizer Maler Claudio Knöpfli und Karl Meyer arbeiten gegenwärtig in New York" [Crosby Street artist community. The two Swiss painters Claudio Knöpfli and Karl Meyer are currently working in New York]. Der Bund (7). Bern: 17.
- ^ "Roland Hagenberg - Karl A. Meyer: Crosby Street". ARTINFLOW. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ^ Hagenberg, Roland (26 June 2017). "News - Storkhouse Raiding". Raiding. Archived from the original on 26 August 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025 – via hagenberg.com.
- ^ "Stararchitekt Hara besucht Raiding" [Star architect Hara visits Raiding]. burgenland.orf.at (in German). Burgenland: Österreichischer Rundfunk, Stiftung öffentlichen Rechts. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ "Hiroshi Hara + Karl A. Meyer. Entwürfe, Zeichnungen, Skulpturen". weltreporter.net (in German). Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ Onori, Piero (28 July 1990). "Blick ins Licht - Über Karl A. Meyers Umgang mit der Natur und den indigenen Kulturen". Basler Magazin (30): 12–13.
- ^ "Holzschnittkunst im Mühlestall (über die Ausstellung Holzschnitt heute)". Basler Zeitung (118): 37. 22 May 2001.
- ^ a b Kempf, Michael (19 June 2025). "40 Jahre alt und über zwei Meter hoch – Das steckt hinter der Ausstellung im Filter 4" [40 years old and over two meters tall – that is behind the exhibition in Filter 4]. Baseljetzt (in German). Basel. Archived from the original on 28 June 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ Gassert, Sigmar (June 1989). "North – South – East – West. Interview mit Karl A. Meyer über das Sublime und den IDOL Begriff in seiner Kunst". Tema Celeste International Art Review (in German) (21): 64–65.
- ^ Esman, Abigail R. (June 1987). "K. A. Meyer and S. Bocanegra at L. Rastovski Gallery". New Art International: 90.
- ^ Aquino, Guilherme (1 June 2017). "O suíço da Babilônia: Karl A. Meyer, o Macunaíma ao avesso". SWI swissinfo.ch (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ "RIO. Love and Life in Times of Executions". artinflow.de (in German). Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ Grossmann, Elisabeth (1987). "Spuren, Zeichen, Mythen und persische Miniaturen". Frauenfeld: 3.
- ^ Esman, Abigail R. (1988). "Nature Abstracted". Cover Magazine (11): 9.
- ^ "Karl A. Meyer". producersart.com. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ "Karl A. Meyer (KAM)". lichtfeld.ch (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ Schibler, Boris (15 June 2001). "Licht im Raum – und Raum im Licht". Basler Zeitung (137): 44.
- ^ RD (May 2001). "Holz als Medium". Dreiland-Zeitung, Basel (21): 14.
- ^ Schibler, Boris (18 June 2003). "Subtiles Kreisen um Gewachsenes und Gebautes". Basler Zeitung. 6: 40.
- ^ Wenger, Regula (16 June 2004). "Karl A. Meyer sah und filmte. Der Baseler Künstler kreierte ein sinnliches Werk für 'Lichtfeld 4'". Baslerstab. Basel.
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