Gottfried Helnwein

(Hardback)

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"I am not aiming to provoke. For me, art is a possibility to defend myself, to retaliate."

Gottfried Helnwein's (b. 1948) paintings of children are both touching and disturbing. The hyperrealistic character of his images serves to intensify this effect still further. The vulnerable and defenseless child serves as the central motif in the artist's examination of the themes of pain, injury and violence. The catalogue provides an overview of his creative work during the past twenty years.

The child in Helnwein's works embodies and serves as proxy for psycho logical and societal fears. The artist also uses his images to denounce Nazism or to address the Holocaust as well as the taboo subject of abuse. Helnwein is considered a provocateur to this day. He still succeeds in shaking up people with his works, which are produced from photographic references and which captivate us through their technical perfection.

Author Bio

Elsy Lahner is curator for contemporary art at the Albertina in Vienna.

Klaus Albrecht Schrder is the director general of the Albertina in Vienna.