Karl Wiebke: Painting
In a search for remoteness and for somewhere to further his artistic career, Karl Wiebke immigrated to Australia from Germany in 1981 at the age of 37. His earliest exhibition pedigree, with exhibitions in 1977 and 1980 at the influential space Kabinett f眉r aktuelle Kunst, showed precocious promise for establishing an international career. (Without a commercial imperative, for over 40 years the Kabinett has paraded a catalogue of major artists 鈥� including Gerhard Richter, Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre, Wolfgang Laib, Lawrence Weiner, Thomas Sch眉tte and Luc Tuymans to name just some 鈥� often at early stages in their careers.)
Wiebke elected to arrive in Perth, in favour of the more populated Eastern seaboard cities of Australia, with a desire for a refreshed beginning distanced from the political climate in Germany and from friends and family. Twice before he had attempted to leave to live in India but his ultimate and successful attempt for Australia was a personal decision, knowing it would be more conducive to being a satisfied individual and a successful artist, which for Wiebke are one and the same.
He gravitated to the artistic hub of Fremantle finding kindred spirits first in the Bannister Street Workshops and later with Paint Kaput, conducting long jamming sessions and occasional public performances with fellow artists Alex Spremberg and Trevor Richards in a Pakenham Street studio that was fitted out as much for playing music as for painting. He and Spremberg had previously lived in city communes in Germany that had also attracted Martin Kippenberger, although Wiebke鈥檚 predilection for minimal and process art meant they were not especially aligned.
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In a search for remoteness and for somewhere to further his artistic career, Karl Wiebke immigrated to Australia from Germany in 1981 at the age of 37. His earliest exhibition pedigree, with exhibitions in 1977 and 1980 at the influential space Kabinett f眉r aktuelle Kunst, showed precocious promise for establishing an international career. (Without a commercial imperative, for over 40 years the Kabinett has paraded a catalogue of major artists 鈥� including Gerhard Richter, Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre, Wolfgang Laib, Lawrence Weiner, Thomas Sch眉tte and Luc Tuymans to name just some 鈥� often at early stages in their careers.)
Wiebke elected to arrive in Perth, in favour of the more populated Eastern seaboard cities of Australia, with a desire for a refreshed beginning distanced from the political climate in Germany and from friends and family. Twice before he had attempted to leave to live in India but his ultimate and successful attempt for Australia was a personal decision, knowing it would be more conducive to being a satisfied individual and a successful artist, which for Wiebke are one and the same.
He gravitated to the artistic hub of Fremantle finding kindred spirits first in the Bannister Street Workshops and later with Paint Kaput, conducting long jamming sessions and occasional public performances with fellow artists Alex Spremberg and Trevor Richards in a Pakenham Street studio that was fitted out as much for playing music as for painting. He and Spremberg had previously lived in city communes in Germany that had also attracted Martin Kippenberger, although Wiebke鈥檚 predilection for minimal and process art meant they were not especially aligned.
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