BriefVita Carlo Cazals

Carlo Cazals - the powerless individualist Dagmar Lott-Reschke (art historian, Hamburg) on Carlo Cazals: "In Cazals' work, the process of drawing leads to a concretization of his inner world. In the sculptures, thoughts acquire a vivid presence, his demons become tangible and are simultaneously banished. Objectification in the image is a form of coping and liberation. Cazals' world is characterized by suffering and passions; it is a world in which people are born, suffer, love—a tragic art to which nothing human is alien and in which an overwhelming fear of the world becomes palpable. The drawing, and within it the plastic conception of worldly experience, becomes discursive language through its presentation. Although the origin of the signs is a deeply subjective one, the images are to be understood as a message. In Cazals' eyes, his works are a manifestation of a crisis that is not only his own. He sees himself as both an observer and a provocateur. His social criticism is underscored by annotations and image titles. They range from simple empiricism such as "Characterology St. Pauli" to defeatism: "Awakened Rubbish" and "Sons of Hell." Cazals, "The Powerless Individualist," warns against "Philistines" and "Bourgeois." The German sociologist Georg Simmel writes: "The deepest problems of modern life stem from the individual's claim to preserve the independence and uniqueness of his existence against the superior powers of society, of historical heritage, of the external culture and technology of life."

Carlo Cazals (1948-2022)

1948 – Born on April 11, 1948 in Hamburg as Udo Klein.

1960s
Early musical and artistic training. Formative support from the opera singer, dramaturge and art teacher Gertrud Pirsch, who taught him singing, art, philosophy and literature. Beginning of a long-standing artistic and personal relationship.

1964-1966
First musical recordings and study trips, including to Italy (Rome, Amalfi, Ravello). Early public appearances as a singer.

At the end of the 1960s
Exemption from military service on the basis of high-ranking artistic sponsorship reports, including from the Hamburg State Opera.

1970s
Increasing focus on the visual arts alongside his musical activities. Intensive study of art history, especially European painting from the Renaissance, Expressionism and Modernism. Exchange with established artists and professors in the Hamburg art scene.

1980s
Further development of an independent artistic language beyond academic doctrines. Occupation with the construction and restoration of string and plucked instruments. Continued musical activity.

Longer creative break due to the care of his patron and teacher Gertrud Pirsch over 10 years.

1994
Death of Gertrud Pirsch. Officially adopts the stage name Carlo Cazals.

1990s
Increased concentration on the visual arts. Transition from representational to increasingly abstract works, supplemented by handwritten text fragments and philosophical reflections. Participation in interdisciplinary projects between music, painting and performance, e.g. with the Krautrock group FAUST.

From the mid-1990s
Shifts the center of his life to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Living and working in Parchim.

2022
Died 2022 in Parchim, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

EXHIBITIONS – a selection

1984 – Gallery Vesper Hamburg

1988 – 1992 – Permanent exhibition at the Kuhlmann and Struck auction house in Hamburg

1994 – 1995 – Auction house Schopmann Hamburg

1995 – Ratzeburg Castle Theater

1996 – Lauenburg Academy in Mölln

1998 – Gallery “Ebe-Art” Parchim

1998 – Town hall Syke near Bremen and gallery “Am Friedeholz”

1998 – Ückermünde prison

1998 – Altonaer Theater Hamburg

1999 to 2001 – Exhibition Hamburg Cultural Foundation

1999 – Gallery Wannsee Berlin-Wannsee

2000 – Museum of Cultural History Stralsund

2003 – Gremmelin Castle / MV

2004 – Salzburg Art Fair (Dr. Boehner )

2005 – Gallery Dr. Boehner in Mannheim

2006 – Permanent exhibition Daschow Castle

2007 – Open-air museum Schwerin-Muess

2010 – Municipal Gallery Wismar “Tree House”

2015 – Kunsthalle Kühlungsborn

2016 – Ad Art Hamburg with KSP Rechtsanwälte

2016 – Cultural forum and sculpture park Pampin

2017 – Participation Illustrade Kunsthalle Rostock

2018 – Kunstraum Testorf, for the 70th birthday

2019 – Kunstverein Güstrow

2019 – Exhibition in the “Schabbel” (Museum of Cultural History) Wismar

2023 – Gallery ebe, Parchim, on the 1st anniversary of his death