Joseph Drapell European-Canadian, 1940

Joseph Drapell was born in 1940 in Humpolec, Bohemia and grew up under the totalitarian systems of Hitler, Stalin, et al. He escaped from Prague at the age of 25 and emigrated to Canada in 1966. Between 1968 and 1970, he studied under various visiting artists and lecturers at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan. He established his name for his iconic style and practice of using a canvas-wide spreading tool to create dynamic forms, such as circles, ovals, and arches.

Drapell now divides his time between Toronto and his island in Georgian Bay (Lake Huron).