Charles Gassner (1915-1977) was a painter of both abstract and figurative subjects.
Gassner was born in the Netherlands, studying art in The Hague before moving to Berlin. In 1948, Gassner left Europe for in South Africa, the place where he felt most at home in his itinerant life. In the early years of his artistic career, Gassner mainly painted people, usually figures in in interior scenes, and used almost solely oil paints for the work he chose to exhibit. After moving to Australia in the early 1950s and shortly returning to South Africa, by the late 50s Gassner had found himself in London where he was a tutor at Camberwell School of Art. His work from the time spent in the UK was predominately, but not exclusively, abstract. Though he later returned to live in South Africa, a body of Gassner's work remained in the UK.
Gassner was one of a group of talented artists working in the very distinctive South African school of representational abstraction, during what has become termed as the Isolation Years. The work of South African abstract artists from this period is experiencing renewed interest and is considered to be one of the most important in South African art history. Interest in Gassner himself has grown recently with many gallery and museum exhibitions, including at the SMAC Art Gallery, Stellenboschand and his paintings are now realising prices in the many thousands at auctions in South Africa.
