Alfred Gockel

Alfred Gockel is a passionate artist / in the footsteps of Dalí and Picasso

Salvator Dalí and Pablo Picasso are his role models. "They brought staging into painting, that's what I love," says Alfred Gockel. He allows himself to be inspired, but he would never copy. The Lüdinghausen-based artist doesn't like that at all. "I honor what I learned from Dalí and Picasso and implement it in my work," explains the 67-year-old.

Gockel meets Dalí - you could say with one or two works. Or: Gockel meets Picasso. Dalí chose horses for his paintings, Picasso chose bulls. As a sign of power and strength. Gockel likes the fish and likes to merge it with the bull and the horse. "The fish is the freest animal. It can swim around the whole world, without borders."

Looking over the shoulder

For our interview, I visit Alfred Gockel in his house in Lüdinghausen, which is both a studio and a gallery. The atmosphere here is very unique. Relaxed and full of creativity at the same time

I am allowed to be there live as Gockel creates an etching. A special graphic printing process that is rarely practiced today.

The image is scratched into a copper plate with an etching needle. Ink is then spread over the plate and rubbed into the cracks with a cloth. The rest of the ink is meticulously wiped off again. "A printer would also make a good cleaning lady," says Gockel with a wink. He wets the paper so that it can absorb the ink well and then the copper plate and paper are placed in the printing press, which the artist operates by hand.

Especially in the USA, Alfred Gockel has achieved great success. "I've always traveled internationally," explains the Lüdinghausen-based artist. His first two exhibitions in the USA were unsuccessful, and he forgot to cancel his registration for the third. "Thank God," says Gockel today. "Because that's when things suddenly took off." He got a contract with a large gallery and then had his final breakthrough at the Art Expo New York in 1985.

Since then, Gockel has sold more than 130,000,000 art prints of his paintings through galleries and art dealers all over the world. "I'm still surprised today where my paintings are hanging," says Gockel. He was only recently in Alaska and a little later in Barcelona. His pictures adorned the walls of the hotel there. "That's really great."

But then digitalization got in the way. In China, people were suddenly printing vast quantities of art prints. "Copyright didn't matter," recalls Gockel. And so many publishers in the rest of the world went bankrupt. "The industry is dead today." He himself concentrated on his etchings again. On originals. On quality instead of quantity.

America longs for culture

Why is he so popular in the USA? "Americans long for culture. They don't have any themselves," explains Gockel. The old masters from Europe, such as Dürer and Picasso, are particularly appealing to Americans. He himself is one of the few artists who works in this tradition and technique.

Gockel offers regular art events in America. He calls it "art entertainment". The average time spent in a gallery is 20 minutes. "Would you decide to buy an expensive painting in that short time?" asks Gockel. "No. So let's make a weekend of it." He introduces the old masters and shows how the etching technique works. "People like that there." He also likes to paint live in front of lots of people - 25,000 of them at a jazz festival.

Inspiring students for art

Alfred Gockel is a passionate artist and is extremely knowledgeable about the history of art over the last 500 years. "An artist has to," he believes. "So that he knows in which tradition he stands and works." Gockel also believes that an artist has an obligation because he can reach many people with his art. An obligation to point out grievances. An obligation not to lose sight of history. And an obligation to inspire enthusiasm for art. And that is what he does. As part of a school project, he recommended the Picasso Museum in Münster to pupils from Lüdinghausen. They called him a few days later. "Mr. Gockel, what have you done? We're being overrun by children and their parents who want a guided tour," he was told. "I've done everything right, haven't I?" asks Gockel with a smile.

"Etching, screen printing, acrylic painting. What do you like best?" I ask the Lüdinghausen-based artist at the end. "The sculpture. Working three-dimensionally - that's the supreme discipline for any artist." Nadine Wenge

Vita:

• Born in 1952
• He published his first picture in a school book at the age of eight
• After school, trained as an electrician in mining
• Studies graphics and design in Münster in 1973
• He then becomes self-employed and works as a lecturer at the FH in Münster for two years
• 1982 Foundation of the Avant Art publishing house
• 1985 Breakthrough at the Art Expo New York
• Chosen as official artist of the Winter Olympics for America in 2006, invitations to create artworks for the US Open followed

The yellow angel:

"The Yellow Angel" is probably the most frequently seen work of art in the nation, with around 200,000 people driving past it every day. The 7.5-metre-high sculpture designed by Alfred Gockel has stood at the Kamener Kreuz intersection since 8 September 2011. Art in public spaces is particularly close to Gockel's heart.