Gottfried Helnwein

_{1948 Vienna}

Gottfried Helnwein was born in Vienna in 1948. From 1965-69 he studied at the Höhere Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt and from 1969-73 painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
In the 70s he began hyperrealistic painting, a style to which he has remained faithful to this day. In this style he also painted numerous depictions of wounded and bandaged children. In these paintings he deals with themes of pain, injury and violence. He also depicts the taboo and irritating themes of recent history, especially from National Socialism. From 1980 onwards, portrait photos of 20th century idols such as Elvis, Mick Jagger, James Dean and Marilyn Monro served as the basis for his photorealistic paintings. He has been honored with numerous solo exhibitions and his works are in prestigious collections and museums around the world, such as the Albertina Museum, Vienna, the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.