Cobra "a revolution in art"

On  November 8, 1948  some  European  artists convened at the Parisian Notre Dame Hôtel, to sign a  declaration announcing the collaboration of several experimental art  groups from Denmark,  Belgium and the Nether- lands. These  artists were  Christian  Dotremont and Joseph Noiret from Belgium, Asger Jorn from Denmark and Karel Appel, Constant Niewenhuys and Corneille from the Netherlands. This  historic  meeting did not imme- diately spawn a name for the group, however it did not take long for the resourceful Dotremont to come up with the name COBRA. Using the name of a poisonous and dangerous snake, he  symbolised  the  revolution un- leashed by artists from Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam.

In the summer of the same year Appel,  Constant  Niewenhuys and Cor- neille had already established the “Experimental Group Holland” in Amster- dam, with members such as Eugene Brands, Anton Rooskens, Theo Wol- vecamp, Constant Nieuwenhuys and the poets Jan  Elburg,  Gerrit Kou- wenaar and Lucebert. The group published the “REFLEX” magazine. After the formation of  the COBRA  group, affairs turmoil into an international exhibition in the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum. The press gave devasta- ting reviews, calling them daubers, bunglers and fakes under headlines as “art elevated to madness”. However, Cobra had established its name and at the end of 1951, another exposition was held in Liege, Belgium. After this event, the artists all went there separate ways while the Cobra name grew to be renowned in the global art society and beyond.