Gottfried Helnwein
b. 1948
Gottfried Helnwein was born in Vienna in 1948. From 1965 to 1969 he attended the Höhere Graphische Bundes-Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt in Vienna. He then studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from 1969 to 1973, in the master class of Rudolf Hausner. His work deals with pain, injury and violence. Its central motif is the vulnerable, defenceless child. He also uses this figure to address National Socialism and the Holocaust. His hyperrealist paintings are always based on photographs. Helnwein moved to Germany in 1985 and to Ireland in 1997. Since 2002 he has lived and worked in both Ireland and Los Angeles. His solo exhibitions include shows at the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, the Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz and the Albertina in Vienna. In 2013 the Albertina dedicated a comprehensive retrospective to him.
Works
Biography
Education 1965–1969 Höhere Graphische Bundes-Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt (Federal College of Graphic Arts), Vienna 1969–1973 Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, master class of Rudolf Hausner Solo exhibitions (selection) 1987 Musée d'Art Moderne, Strasbourg 1997 Retrospective, State Russian Museum, St Petersburg 2004 The Child, Works by Gottfried Helnwein, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco 2006 Face it, Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz 2008 Angels Sleeping, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague 2013 Gottfried Helnwein Retrospektive, Albertina, Vienna 2023 Gottfried Helnwein, Albertina, Vienna Awards 1971 Cardinal König Prize (Kardinal-König-Preis) 1974 Theodor Körner Prize (Theodor-Körner-Preis) 2009 Steiger Award (Art) 2021 European Culture Prize for Visual Arts Collections Albertina, Vienna State Russian Museum, St Petersburg Denver Art Museum, Denver Publications 1997 Helnwein. Retrospective, State Russian Museum, St Petersburg 2004 The Child, Works by Gottfried Helnwein, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco 2006 Face it, Christian Brandstätter Verlag, Vienna 2008 Angels Sleeping, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague 2013 Helnwein, Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern 2023 Gottfried Helnwein, Albertina, Vienna