KARL MEERSMAN

“There’s no word for what he does”

KARL Meersman studied figure drawing, printmaking, drawing for advertising and art-history at a variety of art schools.
He became well-known as a graphic artist but was very attracted to satire and the political cartoons of the late 19th century.

Félicien Rops, Toulouse Lautrec and Honoré Daumier still inspire him today.

Karl did his first drawing for the Belgian financial weekly Trends in 1987.
The editorial board had noticed him working as a quick sketch artist,
making portraits of passers-by in city streets.
These days Karl is still the in-house artist at Trends, KnackFocus and Knack. One editor-in-chief wrote:

“Like a wise fool or a clever clown, he unmasks and disarms our cultural, political and economic leaders with ghastly precision.
Karl Meersman pushes the frontiers of portraiture”.

Besides his editorial drawings, Karl has in recent years increasingly focused on his own free work, exhibitions and books.