Studied
Languages at University of Wits before turning to Art.
1940-44
Wits Tech Art School under Eric Byrd and Maurice van Essche (Nat
Art Teacher’s Certificiate).
Summary Biography
1944-54
Taught at the Pretoria Art Centre, in close association with
Le Roux Smith Le Roux and Walter Battiss, and at various Transvaal schools.
1954
Appointed Art Inspector to Cape Education Department.
1956
Principal, Stellenbosch Art Centre.
1957 – 58
Study-tour of Europe.
1959 – 70
Lecturer, MIchaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
1963
Won 5th Annual ‘Artists of Fame & Promise’ Competition,
Jhb.
1964
Study visit to Europe.
1967
Wrote introductory essay for book on Maurice van Essche.
1970 – 82
After 25 years of teaching, retired to devote himself
to fulltime painting; travelled abroad; a few one-man exhibitions, several
commissions, including landscape and interior compositions for the historic
home, ‘Laborie’, Paarl, Cape Province. Sometime art critic
for ‘Die Burger’ and ‘Cape Times’. Has served
on selection-boards for Venice and Sao Paulo Biennali, various national
exhibitions. Executive member SAAA.
1969
Deputy-Trustee, SA National Gallery. His painting, Karoo Village,
has been reproduced by AA Balkema, Cape Town.
Exhibitions
1952
Van Riebeeck Tercent Exhibition, Cape Town.
1953
Rhodes Cent Exhibition, Bulawayo.
1954
First one-man exhibition
1956
First Quad of SA Art
1963
Sao Paulo Bien.
1967
Rep Fest Exhibition, Pretoria
1971
Rep Fest Exhibition, Cape Town
1982
Cape Town Trien.
Public Collecitons
SA National Gallery, Cape Town
Pretoria Art Museum;
William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberly;
Hester Rupert Art Gallery;
Rebrant Art Foundation;
UNISA;
RAU.
In the course of his career a searching artist often bends in several
directions, making classification in terms of well-known stereotypes, an
arbitrary and inexact procedure. Throughout all the phases of Carl Büchner’s
career thus far, however, he has revealed himself unwaveringly as a romantic
humanist. The human figure has provided the most frequently-recurrent
motif of his work; but even where it is absent – in still-life and
landscape compositions – the imprint of recent use or nostalgia
pervades the picture.
Büchner’s early paintings were consistently devoted to human
subject matter. His figures were sensitively portrayed: slightly elongated
forms, expressionist distortion and romantic colour-usage contributing
to the generally poetic effect. He made frequent use of the palette-knife,
scrumbling one colour over another to create textural and tonal variation
in the flat colour areas which described both space and mass.
In later works Büchner began to model with his brush; the previously
flat application of colour was replaced modulated strokes of juicy paint
and the suggestion of three-dimensional plasticity was heightened by the
elimination of his customary linear accents. He seemed to have been much
influenced during his 1957-58 tour of Europe by the contemporary Italian
school, particularly Morandi; and, in common with the latter, he gave
most of his attention to still-life during the period which followed.
Also like Morandi, his still-life groups, though simplified and monumentalised
almost to the point of abstraction, were never merely assemblages of abstract
forms: the elements remained objects, retaining their identification with
humanity and the human purposes they served.
The early Sixties witnessed a phase of landscape painting and included
several village scenes in the spirit of Karroo Village. Colour, by now,
had lost its early saturation, but an appealing nostalgia persisted in
his scenes.
Carl Büchner was associated over many years, first as student, then
as colleague, with Maurice van Essche. The two artists shared a natural
affinity in their sympathetic view of human subjects and Büchner
might have been expected to reflect more of his mentor's influence in
his initial style; but he successfully avoided manifest eclecticism. However,
at various moments later in his career, the younger painter drew closer
in style and subject matter to Van Essche - and in so doing temporarily
obscured the individuality of his personal romantic vision. Images of
the tragi-comic Harlequin, portrayed so often by both artists, continued
to be the best known and most popular aspects of Büchner's work.
Reference: Esmé Berman, Art and Artists of South Africa, An
Illustrated biographical dictionary and historical survey of painters,
sculptors and graphic artists since 1875; 1983 (75:76)
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Artist: CARL BÜCHNER
Title: Cloaked figure - study of 15th c drapery
Size: 44 x 33 cm
Media: Mixed Media
Price on request |