The painter and sculptor Janus Kadel was born on 24/05/1936 in Berlin. On 05/02/2006 he died of cancer. He lived in Berlin his whole life. From 1953 to 1960 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. During the 50 years of his painting career, he stayed true to tachism or »informal painting« in a rejection of the ideologies of National Socialism.
Even though he repeatedly explored abstraction, a major focus of his paintings was the human figure, especially potraiture. Typical of Berlin Neo Expressionism, his figurative and expressive painting was that of a self-titled »sleepy Expressionist«. But he was wide awake: Kadel images and objects are provocative, critical, sarcastic, sometimes cynical – but never misanthropic or denunciatory. This confirms his sense of humor, even if his images show damaged lives and sometimes point to great sadness. (Gabriele Schmelz, private artist estate)
Catalogue for the exhibition at the Kunsthalle Brennabor, Brandenburg a.d. Havel, from 15.04.-20.05.2011. More Informationen can be found at Janus Kadel.
Autorenschaft: Ulrike Oppelt, Gabriele Schmelz, Adolf Stock