Karel Anthony Nel Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Karel Anthony Nel Art Value Price Guide

Nov. 12, 2024
Karel Nel; South African 1955-; Unified Field
Est: R150,000 - R200,000
Karel Nel South African 1955- Unified Field 2010 signed, dated 2010, and inscribed with the title and the medium on the reverse sprayed pigment on bonded fibre fabric, specularite and alcolin 99,5 by 99,5cm excluding frame; 100 by 100 by 6,5cm including frame
Strauss & Co
Oct. 07, 2023
Karel Anthony Nel, South Africa (B. 1955), abstract sculpture, steel, brass, and ferrous metal, 43" x 7" x 12"
Est: $800 - $1,200
Karel Anthony Nel South Africa, (B. 1955) abstract sculpture steel, brass, and ferrous metal Biography from Bonhams: Born in 1955, Johannesburg-based Karel Nel began his career studying fine art at the University of the Witwatersrand and St Martins. Alongside winning numerous prestigious art awards, his works are included in several national and international collections, including the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of African Art. Nel's work is characterised by the pursuit of connectedness, exploring, as Esmé Berman articulates, the "incandescent moment when we are aware of the interlinkedness of everything", particularly the nexus of art and science. Nel received a Fulbright Placement to the University of California at Berkeley in the late 1980s. Here he continued his investigation into contemporary physics, undertaking works such as the current lot, Circuit/Accelerator, which was completed between July 1988 and May 1989. His more recent inclusion as artist-in-residence in the COSMOS project (the cosmic evolution survey) develops similar concerns. Nel's works are stylistically typified by an additive process whereby form is gradually built through a layering of gestural marks, these marks being utilised, as Rory Doepel reveals, "as both code and pattern". For Nel, the artist is a conduit for intellectual and intuitive information from the outside world, from nuclear physics to esoteric mysticism, which combine with sensory and aesthetic qualities to transcend any particular context. Circuit/Accelerator explores the wave and particle theory of light. The dots in the work are representations of particles. Many of the dots have tails, evoking the sense of wave and movement in particles. The work was strongly informed by Nel's interest in experiments attempting to accelerate particles beyond the speed of light. In addition, the dot pattern introduces an intentional ambiguity into Nel's works, where the dots could be read as hidden images revealed through "connecting" the dots. Recurring motifs in Nel's work reference chaos theories and the intersection of art and physics: these motifs manifest as circuit diagrams, rotating cones, electrical circuits and artificial intelligence coding systems. These forms defy gravity, emerging across the picture plane in chaotic order, such that the resulting picture has no singular viewpoint. Concerned with theories of perception, Nel acknowledges that the spectator takes on a vital role in constructing meaning in his works and that his works are incomplete without the participation of the viewer. BIBLIOGRAPHY E. Berman, Painting in South Africa, (Johannesburg, 1993), p.341 R. Doepel, Karel Nel: Transforming Symbols, (Johannesburg, 1993), p.2
Ripley Auctions
Sep. 19, 2023
Karel Nel; South African 1955-; The Voyage Mind/Oceania
Est: R250,000 - R350,000
Karel Nel South African 1955- The Voyage Mind/Oceania signed, dated 1998, and inscribed with the title pastel on tapa/bark cloth 430 by 83cm excluding frame; 466 by 96,5 by 8,5cm including frame
Strauss & Co
Sep. 21, 2022
Karel Nel; South African 1955-; Collected Images
Est: R400,000 - R600,000
Karel Nel South African 1955- Collected Images signed, dated '1998 - 002' and inscribed with the title pastel on bonded fibre 170 by 250cm excluding frame
Strauss & Co
Sep. 20, 2022
Karel Nel; South African 1955-; Dish
Est: R400,000 - R600,000
signed, dated 2014-2015 and inscribed with the title on the reverse; inscribed with the artist's name, title, date and medium on an Art First label adhered to the reverse pastel, metallic dust and dry pigment on bonded fibre fabric 164 by 164cm excluding frame; 180,5 by 180 by 5cm including frame
Strauss & Co
Aug. 11, 2022
Karel Nel (b. 1955) Voyager, 1998 Pastel and sprayed pigment on fabric 89 x 68-1
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Karel Nel (b. 1955) Voyager, 1998 Pastel and sprayed pigment on fabric 89 x 68-1/2 inches (226.1 x 174.0 cm) (sheet) Signed, dated, and titled lower center: Voyager / 1998 / Karel Nel Property from the G.E. Corporate Art Collection HID01801242017
Heritage Auctions
Nov. 30, 2021
VIEW FROM MAUNA KEA
Est: R150,000 - R200,000
strung glass beads and pins on fabric on board
Aspire Art
Apr. 20, 2021
Karel Nel (South Africa 1955-) In-tact, 1989
Est: R4,000 - R6,000
signed, dated, numbered A.P. V/X and inscribed with the title in pencil along the bottom margin
Aspire Art
Nov. 23, 2020
Karel Anthony Nel (South African, born 1955) Cosmos
Est: £1,500 - £2,000
Karel Anthony Nel (South African, born 1955) Cosmos inscribed 'Karel Nel/ 2011/ Cosmos: 259 Degree Field' (verso) sprayed pigment on bonded fibre paper 55 x 210cm (21 5/8 x 82 11/16in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
Nov. 10, 2020
Karel Nel; South African 1955-; The Place of the Manao Tupapau, Gauguin's Grave, Hiva Oa
Est: R400,000 - R600,000
signed, dated 95/96 and inscribed 'The Spirit of the Dead Watches, Atuona'; Art First, London, label bearing details of the artwork on the reverse pastel and pigment on bonded fibre fabric 165 by 214cm excluding frame; 182 by 231.5 by 5cm including frame
Strauss & Co
Jul. 15, 2020
Karel Nel, South African b.1955- - Song of the Voyage- Oceania 1995/ 1996;
Est: £5,000 - £7,000
Karel Nel, South African b.1955- Song of the Voyage- Oceania 1995/ 1996; pastel and pigment on tapa, signed and dated 95/96 lower left, 108 x 302cm Provenance: Art First Contemporary Art, London; Private collection, London Exhibited: Art First Contemporary Art, , London, November 2003- January 2004 Note: Karel Nel studied at Saint Martin’s School of Art, London and the University of California, Berkeley (on a Fulbright Scholarship from 1988 – 1989). Nel was an Associate Professor at the Wits School of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, where he he left three years ago , taking up his post as Senior Curator of the Norval Foundation in Cape Town. In this position he has presented some of the most critical exhibitions, filling the astonishing gaps in South African art history, most recently with his exhibition of the sculptures of William Kentridge - the first ever exhibition of this widely exhibited artist. Nel is a respected collector of African, Asian and Oceanic art with a particular interest in currencies. He is considered an expert in southern African art and advises and consults museums in South Africa, New York, London and Paris. He has also been part of various curatorial teams for major international exhibitions on early Zulu, Tsonga and Shangaan art and has contributed to numerous publications on this material. Over many years Nel has been interested in the interface between art and science, and his investigations have led to his inclusion in the COSMOS project, as artist- in-residence, involving more than a hundred scientists around the world charged with mapping a two-degree square area of the sky. The artist has kindly confirmed the authenticity of this this work.
Roseberys
May. 13, 2020
Karel Anthony Nel (South African, born 1955) Cosmos
Est: £3,000 - £5,000
Karel Anthony Nel (South African, born 1955) Cosmos inscribed 'Karel Nel/ 2011/ Cosmos: 259 Degree Field' (verso) sprayed pigment on bonded fibre paper 210 x 55cm (82 11/16 x 21 5/8in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
Feb. 15, 2020
Karel Nel , South African 1955- - The Place of the Manao Tupapau, Gauguin’s Grave, Hiva Oa
Est: R500,000 - R700,000
Karel Nel South African 1955- The Place of the Manao Tupapau, Gauguin’s Grave, Hiva Oa signed, dated 95/96 and inscribed 'The Spirit of the Dead Watches, Atuona'; Art First, London label bearing details of the artwork on the reverse pastel and pigment on bonded fibre fabric 165 by 214cm
Strauss & Co
Nov. 11, 2019
Karel Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1955– - Point to Line to Plane,
Est: R200,000 - R300,000
Karel Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1955– Point to Line to Plane, Astronomical Treatise, Kyoto 2018 inscribed with the artist’s name, the title and the medium on the reverse sprayed pigment on bonded fibre fabric 50 by 270 cm
Strauss & Co
Nov. 11, 2019
Karel Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1955– - Voids and Vanishing Points:
Est: R200,000 - R300,000
Karel Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1955– Voids and Vanishing Points: Cosmos, Kyoto, Tokyo 2018 inscribed with the artist’s name, the title and the medium on the reverse sprayed pigment on bonded fibre fabric 50 by 270 cm
Strauss & Co
Oct. 03, 2019
Karel Anthony Nel (South African, born 1955) Cosmos
Est: £8,000 - £12,000
Karel Anthony Nel (South African, born 1955) Cosmos inscribed 'Karel Nel/ 2011/ Cosmos: 259 Degree Field' (verso) sprayed pigment on bonded fibre paper 210 x 55cm (82 11/16 x 21 5/8in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
May. 20, 2019
Karel Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1955- - Presence: Leaf Shrine, North Island, Seychelles
Est: R400,000 - R600,000
Karel Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1955- Presence: Leaf Shrine, North Island, Seychelles 2014 inscribed with the artist's name, the date, the title and the medium on the reverse in the artist's hand charcoal, pastel and pigment on bonded fibre fabric 167 by 167cm â€˜My first overwhelming experience with leaves was in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, while visiting my paternal grandparents. Here I saw massive banana leaves for the first time. I was overawed by their luxuriance, their scale and their life force â€“ such a vital and dramatic contrast to the desiccated landscapes of the Free State. Back in Welkom, as a boy of four, I remember arranging rows of bottles of water with leaves and flowers in them, which were changed daily. This rekindled the vivid memory of my coastal experience and is evidence of my first collecting impulse, and early fascination with nature and its beautyâ€™.1 Years later, when Nel first encountered a startling coco de mer leaf, it seemed to him like a massive explosion of living greenness. In drawing these leaves, he has found that the only way of representing their unexpected enormity is by providing some form of human scale and placing them in an architectural environment. The first of these drawings, in a series undertaken over a decade, was made under a simple palm-leaf lean-to, when North Island was still completely uninhabited. On each subsequent visit, Nel cut a single leaf, placed it in the space where he slept, and drew it. Over time, the rudimentary shelter was replaced by the spacious, environmentally sensitive, thatched dwellings of an eco-lodge designed by Silvio Rech and Leslie Carstens. Unlike most of Nelâ€™s other Seychellois tonal drawings, the present Lot is distinguished by radiant hues that represent the large coco de mer leaf, its huge serrated form catching the breeze, in an otherwise muted timber and thatch context. The points of the leaf move across the soft white seasand below it, leaving evanescent traces. To the left of the leaf, an eidetic image of a leaf shrine, actually present on the island, makes its appearance. Beyond the presence of the leaf, a glimpse of the island, as though in moonlight, can be seen â€“ elusive peaks and silvery waves. 1. Karel Nel (2007) â€˜In the Presence of Leavesâ€™, in Karel Nel and Emile Maurice, Lost Light: Fugitive Images from Deep Space, Johannesburg: Standard Bank Gallery.
Strauss & Co
Feb. 16, 2019
Karel Nel - Dish
Est: R500,000 - R700,000
Karel Nel Dish 2015 pastel, metallic dust and dry pigment on bonded fibre fabric 164,5 by 164cm
Strauss & Co
Feb. 16, 2019
Karel Nel - Shuttered Darkness
Est: R200,000 - R300,000
Karel Nel Shuttered Darkness signed, dated 2004 and inscribed with the title on the reverse carboniferous material and salt on wooden base 50 by 180cm
Strauss & Co
Nov. 12, 2018
Karel Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1955- - White Sound
Est: R500,000 - R700,000
Karel Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1955- White Sound 1983 pastel and sprayed pigment on bonded fibre fabric 164 by 249 cm LITERATURE: Rory Doepel (1993). Karel Nel: Transforming Symbols , Johannesburg: Foundation for the Creative Arts, illustrated in black and white on page 10. This largescale work in silver greys, white and black evokes a distant view of the planetary arc as though looking down onto the world’s weather system. The swirling vortices, radiant cloudlike forms, shimmering whites and dark blacks evoke quiet fluid processes that underlie both climatic systems and the intangible ‘weather’ of human thought. It is a visual mapping of the internal mental shifting of ideas leading broadly to changes in social behaviour and paradigm shifts in human consciousness. Rory Doepel, in his early text titled Karel Nel: Transforming Symbols , comments that ‘Nel conceives of life and matter as being interconnected – nothing is isolated, everything is seen to interact. Reality is understood as a web of energy fields. Such fields, rendered in Nel’s work find their counterpart in both scientific theory and esoteric literature. The philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin conceived of the ‘Noosphere’ which he explained as thought atmosphere, or ‘the terrestrial sphere of thinking substance’, the probable source for Nel’s White Sound of 1983’. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1974). Let Me Explain. London: Collins, pages 19 and 20. Rory Doepel (1993). Karel Nel: Transforming Symbols , Johannesburg: Foundation for the Creative Arts.
Strauss & Co
Nov. 12, 2018
Karel Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1955- - Memory Drawing: Ceremonial Seat in the Form of an Alligator’s Head
Est: R20,000 - R30,000
Karel Nel SOUTH AFRICAN 1955- Memory Drawing: Ceremonial Seat in the Form of an Alligator’s Head signed with the artist's initials and inscribed with 'Siege ceremonial in forme de tête d'aligator. Site de Papaguyo N. O. du Costa Rica a.p. JC. 1200– 1600. Musée de l'Homme, Paris'. graphite and Conté chalk on handmade paper 70 by 100cm LITERATURE: Rory Doepel (1993). Karel Nel: Transforming Symbols , Johannesburg: Foundation for the Creative Arts, a work from the same series, shown hanging in the artist’s studio, is illustrated in black and white on page 10.
Strauss & Co
Feb. 17, 2018
Karel Nel - Schism I
Est: R500,000 - R700,000
Karel Nel Schism I signed and dated 1993 pastel and sprayed pigment on bonded fibre fabric 230 by 174cm
Strauss & Co
Nov. 13, 2017
Karel Nel - Inventory
Est: R250,000 - R350,000
Karel Nel Inventory signed, dated 1996-97 mixed media on paper 100 by 180cm
Strauss & Co
Nov. 13, 2017
Karel Nel - Wayfarer, Mudif, Johannesburg
Est: R400,000 - R600,000
Karel Nel Wayfarer, Mudif, Johannesburg signed, dated 2004/2005 and inscribed with the title on the reverse; inscribed with the artist's name, title, date and medium on an Art First Contemporary Art label adhered to the reverse charcoal, pastel and sprayed pigment on bonded fibre fabric sheet size: 181 by 181cm
Strauss & Co
Nov. 13, 2017
Karel Nel - Edge Piece II
Est: R70,000 - R100,000
Karel Nel Edge Piece II cast bronze and bolted felt length: 59cm
Strauss & Co
Mar. 22, 2017
KAREL ANTHONY NEL (SOUTH AFRICAN, BORN 1955) - Folded World
Est: £10,000 - £15,000
KAREL ANTHONY NEL (SOUTH AFRICAN, BORN 1955) Folded World titled, signed and dated ‘Folded World/ Karel Nel/ 2005’ (lower right); bears Art First Contemporary Art exhibition label (verso) charcoal and pastel 180 x 180cm (70 7/8 x 70 7/8in).
Bonhams
Nov. 07, 2016
Karel Anthony Nel - Edge Piece
Est: R60,000 - R80,000
Karel Anthony Nel Edge Piece bronze and steel width: 52cm
Strauss & Co
Oct. 02, 2013
Karel Anthony Nel (South African, born 1955)
Est: £5,000 - £8,000
Circuit/Accelerator drawing with mixed media on acrylic bonded paper 230 x 180cm (90 9/16 x 70 7/8in).
Bonhams
Jun. 04, 2013
Karel Anthony Nel (South African 1955-) LIMBODA
Est: R30,000 - R40,000
Karel Anthony Nel (South African 1955-) LIMBODA PHOROS inscribed with the title on a label on the reverse charcoal and conté with heightening on bonded fibre 133 by 150cm cf. a similar example appears in Berman, E., Painting in South Africa, Southern Book Publishers, Johannesburg, 1993, illustrated on p 340, cat no. 209 * Condition report available ILLUSTRATED
Stephan Welz & Co
Mar. 20, 2013
Karel Anthony Nel (South African, born 1955)
Est: £7,000 - £10,000
Circuit/Accelerator drawing with mixed media on acrylic bonded paper 230 x 180cm (90 9/16 x 70 7/8in).
Bonhams
Aug. 16, 2011
Karel Anthony Nel (South African 1955-) STILL LIFE
Est: R6,000 - R9,000
Karel Anthony Nel (South African 1955-) STILL LIFE WITH PROTEAS AND FRUIT signed and dated '71 gouache on paper 62 by 50cm
Stephan Welz & Co
May. 16, 2011
Karel Anthony NEL South African 1955- Convergence,
Est: R350,000 - R500,000
Karel Anthony NEL South African 1955- Convergence, House of the Initiate signed and dated 1992; inscribed with the title pastel on bonded fibre 236 by 175cm Karel Nel is a respected collector of African, Asian and Oceanic art with a particular interest in the sacred and in the social values of art. According to Nel: Over many years, my interest has focused on sacred art and how the values of societies are encoded, consciously or unconsciously, in the art of various cultures. Sacred or hallowed values inform the construction of consensus realities, belief systems that underpin social action and economy. These inform different systems of value that enable trade and transactions in various places, ranging from stock exchanges and art auction houses to remote fishing villages of the world. It is these complex transactions and their varied manifestations and shifts across time, that continue to prompt and inspire both my inextricably linked art-making and collecting.i His search for spiritual imensions in art echoes that of Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian and Constantin Brancusi, artists whom he admires. Like Alexis Preller, whose recent monograph he co-authored, Nel is interested in traditional cultures and in where the convergences and commonalities between the traditional and the contemporary may be found. With obvious references in this work to indigenous cultures, such as that of the Venda and Lovedu, we may assume that he is exploring initiation and rites of passage as practiced amongst local groups. However, Nel's interest lies primarily in gaining metaphysical insight. For Nel, says Rory Doepel, "the task of life is self-transformation and growth: works of art can facilitate such a process for both the creator and spectator, through the power of symbols of transformation".ii Nel sees the house as a universal symbol associated with a nurturing environment and a space for the meeting of ideas. Like Henri Matisse, whom he also admires, Nel creates interiors filled with objects collected on e ploratory journeys. Here the artist's studio bedroom includes his bed covered in a dramatically striped Arabic cloth over his bed - the bed is at once a physical object and the locus of dreaming. The white bonded fibre fabric on which he transfers brilliant colour and dynamic marks radiates lightness as if illuminating ideas. Karel Nel studied Fine Art at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, St Martin's School of Art in London and the University of California, Berkeley on a Fulbright Placement from 1989 to 1991. He now lives and works in Johannesburg and is Associate Professor at the School of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand. He has considerable expertise in southern African art and advises and consults with museums in South Africa, New York, London and Paris. He has also been part of curatorial teams for major international exhibitions on early Zulu, Tsonga and Shangaan art, and has contributed to numerous publications on this material. His substantial collection of both African and Oce nic traditional currencies is on loan to the Nedbank Headquarters in Sandton. i Michael Smith, Karel Nel: Artbio, http://www.artthrob.co.za/07apr/artbio.html ii Rory Doepel, Karel Nel: Transforming Symbols, no place, no date.
Strauss & Co
Sep. 07, 2009
Karel Anthony Nel South African 1955- In-tact
Est: R6,000 - R9,000
Karel Anthony Nel South African 1955- In-tact signed, dated '86, numbered 'A.P. IX/X' and inscribed with the title in pencil in the margin screen-print on fabriano paper with collage 53 by 44cm
Strauss & Co
May. 31, 2004
Karel Anthony Nel (South African 1955-) THE SHORE BEYOND signed, dated '92 and inscribed with the title mixed media on bonded fibre 202 by 106cm ILLUSTRATED ON PAGE 93
Est: R50,000 - R70,000
Karel Anthony Nel (South African 1955-) THE SHORE BEYOND signed, dated '92 and inscribed with the title mixed media on bonded fibre 202 by 106cm ILLUSTRATED ON PAGE 93
Stephan Welz & Co
May. 07, 2001
Karel Anthony Nel (1955-) INNER HOUSE HIVA OA marked with the title on a label on the reverse pastel and sprayed pigment on bonded fibre 223 by 170cm Exhibited: Standard Bank Gallery, Karel Nel Solo Journeys, November-January 1999-2000, Johannesburg
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
Karel Anthony Nel (1955-) INNER HOUSE HIVA OA marked with the title on a label on the reverse pastel and sprayed pigment on bonded fibre 223 by 170cm Exhibited: Standard Bank Gallery, Karel Nel Solo Journeys, November-January 1999-2000, Johannesburg
Stephan Welz & Co