26 JANUARY 2 FEBRUARY 2025

BRUSSELS EXPO | HEYSEL

Encounters and friendships with the CoBrA Masters


30/01/2021

By Peter Femfert, Gallery owner and Elke Mohr, Gallery director DIE GALERIE (Frankfurt am Main)

TALK given in ENG - Watch the talk HERE - password: brafa

DIE GALERIE, founded by Peter Femfert in 1979, is devoted to the most significant 20th century artistic movements and cutting-edge contemporary creative art. DIE GALERIE focuses primarily on modern art, with particular emphasis on Surrealism, the CoBrA group, and contemporary figurative art. The gallery does not only organize exhibitions in its own space in Frankfurt am Main but also in prestigious museums, cultural institutions and international galleries. Its activities include publishing and art consultancy. The gallery frequently participates in the most important art fairs in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Gallery owner Peter Femfert and gallery manager Elke Mohr discuss their personal encounters and friendships with some of the major CoBrA artists such as Corneille, Asger Jorn, Karel Appel, Pierre Alechinsky, Lucebert and Carl-Henning Pedersen. They will be showing work by these artists at the gallery in Frankfurt am Main during BRAFA IN THE GALLERIES.

Their talk gives a very personal insight into the life and work of a number of CoBrA artists and conveys the enthusiasm gallerists feel when collaborating with artists they admire.

Peter Femfert describes his friendship with Corneille (1922-2010) for example, the Dutch artist who was instrumental in introducing him to CoBrA at the beginning of his career in the early 1980s. He recalls his numerous visits to Corneille’s studios and homes in Paris and Macerata, a path that led to his meeting with Pierre Alechinsky, the only CoBrA artist still alive.

Peter and Elke also discuss the unforgettable moments they’ve spent in artists’ studios even after the artist’s death – when there is just a family member left to talk about their work.

For them, their role as mediators between often idiosyncratic artists and collectors is a vital part of their work as gallerists.

Karel Appel, Begging Children, 1948, Oil on canvas, 70 x 104 cm