Alfred Alexander Gockel (Ludinghausen, Germany, 1952) was fascinated by the magic of colors on paper from his earliest days on. After he graduated from high school, he studied at the Polytechnic Academy in Munster in 1973. His main emphasis was typography, graphic design and advertising. After graduating in 1977 he was active as a freelance artist, designer and lecturer of typography and graphic design at the Polytechnic Academy in Munster. In 1981 he had stopped all additional activities and become a full-time artist. This was the beginning of a successful career. In 1983 he and his wife Ingrid founded an art publishing company together with his wife, Avant Art, today a top ranked player in the abstract segment of the market, with customers in more than 50 countries worldwide.