Karel Lek Overview
Lek was born in Antwerp, Belgium, to a Jewish family in 1929. The events of the Second World War meant that his family had to flee to Britain when he was a child, settling in Bangor, North Wales, in 1940. Lek was inspired as a child by the galleries his father would take him to in Antwerp, and his passion for art continued in his move over to Britain as he studied at the Liverpool College of Art.
His experience as a refugee can be seen to be a central part of his artistic practice, with Lek citing the idea of ‘humanity’ as his artistic inspiration. His prints and mixed-media artworks often centre on capturing moments of human interaction and character within the Welsh landscape, speaking to the freedom that he felt he had found in Wales. His background and subject matter meant that Lek is associated with both the North Wales Group of Artists and wider circles of other refugee artists of Jewish origin who shared his experience of persecution in Europe. As a result, his name often appears alongside those of Sir Kyffin Williams, Josef Herman and Heinz Koppel. Lek died in Beaumaris, on the Isle of Anglesey, in 2020.
His career led to him being exhibited widely across Wales, as well as in London, Amsterdam, and Chicago. Here at Wilson55, our in-house expert Stephen Sparrow has years of experience in assessing and valuing Northern Artists like Karel Lek, so do get in touch if you’d like to learn more about a piece you own, or discuss a potential sale or valuation.
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