Gottfried Helnwein | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 8 October 1948 Vienna, Austria |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Education | Academy of Fine Arts Vienna |
| Known for | painting, photography, installation art |
| Notable work | Ninth November Night (1988), Epiphany I (Adoration of the Magi) (1996), Disasters of War 3 (2007), The Murmur of the Innocents 14 (2010), I Walk Alone (2003), Peinlich (1971) |
| Movement | Hyperrealism, installation art, performance art |
Gottfried Helnwein (born 8 October 1948) is an Austrian-Irish visual artist. He has worked as a painter, draftsman, photographer, muralist, sculptor, installation and performance artist, using a wide variety of techniques and media.
His work is concerned primarily with psychological and sociological anxiety, historical issues and political topics. His subject matter is the human condition. The metaphor for his art is dominated by the image of the child, particularly the wounded child, scarred physically and emotionally from within.[1] His works often reference taboo and controversial issues from recent history, especially the Nazi rule and the Holocaust. As a result, his work is often considered provocative and controversial.
Helnwein has produced artworks for rock bands the Rolling Stones, Scorpions and Rammstein. He has also partnered with Marilyn Manson in the production of The Golden Age of Grotesque and other projects.
Helnwein studied at the University of Visual Art in Vienna. He lives and works in Ireland, where he owns the Castle Gurteen de la Poer, and Los Angeles.
- ^ Robert Flynn Johnson, Curator of the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums, "The Child – Works by Gottfried Helnwein", essay for the catalogue of the one man show at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, ISBN 978-0-88401-112-5, 2004