Retour/Back
© Gottfried HELNWEIN / Detail of The Murmur of the Innocents 13, 2009, mixed media, oil and acrylic of canvas, 220 x 330 cm,
The artist has agreed in principle to participate in the retrospective exhibition « HYPERREALISM from 1965 to the present day » planned for the end of 2025.
New from the artist
On view at the ALBERTINA museum from 25 October 2023 until 11 February 2024.
To celebrate the 75th birthday of Gottfried Helnwein, the ALBERTINA Museum is showing a large-scale exhibition of his output from the past two decades. The Vienna-born artist Gottfried Helnwein’s oeuvre is characterized by his interest in the themes of pain, injury, and violence. A central motif of his is the figure of the vulnerable and defenseless child as a proxy of sorts, one that embodies all psychological and societal anxieties.
His hyperrealistic paintings, always created with reference to a photographic model, are impressive for their technical perfection. To this day, Helnwein is viewed as a provocateur—having used his work to engage in social criticism from the very beginning: “My work has really always been an attempt to come to terms with or react to that which affects me.”
Source of this announcement: : Albertina Museum in Vienna (Austria) – Website: www.albertina.at
SOUVENIRS D’ENTENHAUSEN
par GOTTFRIED HELNWEIN
» La nuit, ma chambre d’enfant était plongée dans une profonde lumière rouge – mes jouets, les meubles, mon lit, mes mains – tout avait la même couleur et semblait être fait de la même matière douce. Comme si les lois de la nature avaient été abolies, toute la matière semblait s’embraser de l’intérieur. La cause de ces nuits rouges miraculeuses était l’énorme étoile lumineuse de l’Armée rouge sur le toit de l’usine d’en face, qui déversait la nuit ses braises dans ma chambre d’enfant.
Les jours, en revanche, étaient gris, visqueux comme de la bave et d’un ennui sans limite, tout me paraissait irréel et laid. C’est dans la Vienne de l’après-guerre que j’ai grandi. Je vivais avec mes parents à Favoriten, un quartier ouvrier traditionnel de Vienne, qui faisait alors partie de la zone d’occupation soviétique. La maison dans laquelle nous vivions menait une existence misérable entre une fonderie du début du siècle et un monstre gris d’usine de l’époque nazie, qui portait désormais sur son toit la marque de ses nouveaux maîtres, justement cette énorme étoile rouge.
Dans mon souvenir, tout est rouillé et poussiéreux. Les rues étaient désertes, rien ne bougeait, personne ne parlait. Les rares personnes que je voyais étaient trapues, difformes, voûtées. Un monde silencieux, sans bruit, sans couleur, sans mouvement, à peine troublé parfois par le grondement d’un camion encombrant qui, chargé de soldats russes, traversait la rue au pas de course.
Puis c’était à nouveau le silence. »
(Extrait du site de l’artiste avec son aimable autorisation; Titre du document original : Erinnerungen an Entenhausen; Auteur: Gottfried Hellnwein)
Site web de l’artiste: gottfriedhelwein.com
MEMORIES OF ENTENHAUSEN
by GOTTFRIED HELNWEIN
« At night my childhood room was bathed in a deep red light – my toys, the furniture, my bed, my hands – everything had the same colour and seemed to be made of the same soft material. As if the laws of nature had been abolished, all matter seemed to blaze from within. The cause of these miraculous red nights was the enormous luminous star of the Red Army on the roof of the factory opposite, which poured its embers into my childhood bedroom at night.
The days, on the other hand, were grey, slimy like slime and boundlessly boring, everything seemed unreal and ugly. I grew up in post-war Vienne. I lived with my parents in Favoriten, a traditional working-class district of Vienna, which was then part of the Soviet occupation zone. The house in which we lived led a miserable existence between a turn-of-the-century foundry and a grey Nazi-era factory monster, which now bore the mark of its new masters on its roof, precisely that huge red star.
In my memory, everything is rusty and dusty. The streets were deserted, nothing was moving, nobody was talking. The few people I saw were stocky, deformed, stooped. A silent world, without noise, without colour, without movement, barely disturbed at times by the rumble of a bulky truck loaded with Russian soldiers, which crossed the street at a run.
Then there was silence again.
(Extract from the artist’s website with her kind permission; Title of original document: Erinnerungen an Entenhausen; Author: Gottfried Hellnwein)
Artist’s website: gottfriedhelwein.com
Auszug aus der Website des Künstlers mit seiner freundlichen Genehmigung; Titel des Originaldokuments: Erinnerungen an Entenhausen; Verfasser: Gottfried Hellnwein)
Website des Künstlers: gottfriedhelwein.com
RICORDI DI ENTENHAUSEN
di GOTTFRIED HELNWEIN
« Di notte la mia stanza d’infanzia era immersa in una luce rossa intensa: i miei giocattoli, i mobili, il mio letto, le mie mani, tutto aveva lo stesso colore e sembrava fatto dello stesso materiale morbido. Come se le leggi della natura fossero state abolite, tutta la materia sembrava ardere dall’interno. La causa di queste miracolose notti rosse era l’enorme stella luminosa dell’Armata Rossa sul tetto della fabbrica di fronte, che di notte riversava le sue braci nella mia camera d’infanzia.
I giorni, invece, erano grigi, viscidi come la melma e infinitamente noiosi, tutto sembrava irreale e brutto. Sono cresciuto nella Vienne del dopoguerra. Vivevo con i miei genitori a Favoriten, un tradizionale quartiere operaio di Vienna, che allora faceva parte della zona di occupazione sovietica. La casa in cui vivevamo conduceva una misera esistenza tra una fonderia di fine secolo e un mostro di fabbrica grigio dell’era nazista, che ora portava sul tetto il marchio dei suoi nuovi padroni, proprio quell’enorme stella rossa.
Nella mia memoria, tutto è arrugginito e polveroso. Le strade erano deserte, nulla si muoveva, nessuno parlava. Le poche persone che ho visto erano tozze, deformi, chinate. Un mondo silenzioso, senza rumori, senza colori, senza movimenti, appena disturbato dal rombo di un ingombrante camion carico di soldati russi, che attraversava la strada di corsa.
Poi di nuovo il silenzio.
Estratto dal sito web dell’artista per sua gentile concessione; Titolo del documento originale: Erinnerungen an Entenhausen; Autore: Gottfried Hellnwein)
Sito web dell’artista: gottfriedhelwein.com
RECUERDOS DE ENTENHAUSEN
por GOTTFRIED HELNWEIN
« Por la noche, la habitación de mi infancia estaba bañada por una luz rojo intenso: mis juguetes, los muebles, mi cama, mis manos… todo tenía el mismo color y parecía estar hecho del mismo material blando. Como si las leyes de la naturaleza hubieran sido abolidas, toda la materia parecía arder desde dentro. La causa de estas milagrosas noches rojas era la enorme estrella luminosa del Ejército Rojo en el tejado de la fábrica de enfrente, que por la noche vertía sus brasas en el dormitorio de mi infancia.
Los días, en cambio, eran grises, viscosos como el limo e ilimitadamente aburridos, todo parecía irreal y feo. Crecí en la Vienne de la posguerra. Vivía con mis padres en Favoriten, un tradicional barrio obrero de Viena, que entonces formaba parte de la zona de ocupación soviética. La casa en la que vivíamos llevaba una existencia miserable entre una fundición de principios de siglo y un monstruo gris de fábrica de la época nazi, que ahora llevaba en el tejado la marca de sus nuevos amos, precisamente esa enorme estrella roja.
En mi memoria, todo está oxidado y polvoriento. Las calles estaban desiertas, nada se movía, nadie hablaba. Las pocas personas que vi eran fornidas, deformes, encorvadas. Un mundo silencioso, sin ruido, sin color, sin movimiento, apenas perturbado a veces por el estruendo de un voluminoso camión cargado de soldados rusos, que cruzaba la calle a la carrera.
Entonces se hizo de nuevo el silencio.
Extracto de la página web del artista con su amable permiso; Título del documento original: Erinnerungen an Entenhausen; Autor: Gottfried Hellnwein)
Sitio web del artista: gottfriedhelwein.com
Galerie / Gallery ( Sélection représentative / representative selection )
© Gottfried HELNWEIN / Epiphany I (Adoration of the Magi), 1996, mixed media, oil and acrylic on canvas, 210 cm x 333 cm, Denver Art Museum , Kent Logan Collection.
© Gottfried HELNWEIN / Dark Hour, 2003, mixed media, oil and acrylic on canvas, 96 cm x 152 cm
© Gottfried HELNWEIN / The Disasters of War 28, 2011, mixed media, oil and acrylic on canvas, 201 cm x 163 cm