GOTTFRID HELNWEIN

Born: Vienna, Austria, 1948,

Helnwein was born in Vienna and ranks among the best-known, but also most disputed German-speaking artists after World War II.

He studied at the University of Visual Art in Vienna (Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Wien). He was awarded the Master-class prize (Meisterschulpreis) of the University of Visual Art, Vienna, the Kardinal-König prize and the Theodor-Körner prize.

He has worked as a painter, draftsman, photographer, muralist, sculptor, installation- and performance artist, using a wide variety of techniques and media.

His early work consists mainly of hyper-realistic watercolors, depicting wounded children, as well as performances - often with children - in public spaces. Helnwein is a conceptual artist, concerned primarily with psychological and sociological anxiety, historical issues and political topics. As a result of this, his work is often considered provocative and controversial.

Viennese-born Helnwein is part of a tradition going back to the 18th century, to which Messerschmidt's grimacing sculptures belong. One sees, too, the common ground of his works with those of Hermann Nitsch and Rudolf Schwarzkogler, two other Viennese, who display their own bodies in the frame of reference of injury, pain, and death. One can also see this fascination for body language goes back to the expressive gesture in the work of Egon Schiele.

Helnwein’s subject matter involves the complexities of the human condition. His disturbing yet provocative images of physically and emotionally wounded children have been seen as metaphors for larger global issues. He portrays the innocence of adolescence against the backdrop of historical events like the Holocaust to highlight the fragility of humanity in an unstable world.

The Child

A clarity of vision in his subject matter was emerging in Helnwein's art that was to stay consistent throughout his career. His subject matter is the human condition. The metaphor for his art, although it included self-portraits, is dominated by the image of the child, but not the carefree innocent child of popular imagination. Helnwein instead created the profoundly disturbing yet compellingly provocative image of the wounded child. The child scarred physically and the child scarred emotionally from within.

In 2004 The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco organized the first one-person exhibition of Gottfried Helnwein at an American Museum: "The Child, works by Gottfried Helnwein" at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. The show was seen by almost 130,000 visitors and the San Francisco Chronicle quoted it the most important exhibition of a contemporary artist in 2004. Steven Winn, Chronicle Arts and Culture Critic, wrote: "Helnwein's large format, photo-realist images of children of various demeanors boldly probed the subconscious. Innocence, sexuality, victimization and haunting self-possession surge and flicker in Helnwein's unnerving work".

Harry S.Parker III, Director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco explained what makes Helnwein’s art significant: "For Helnwein, the child is the symbol of innocence, but also of innocence betrayed. In today’s world, the malevolent forces of war, poverty, and sexual exploitation and the numbing, predatory influence of modern media assault the virtue of children. Robert Flynn Johnson, the curator in charge, has assembled a thought-provoking selection of Helnwein’s works and provided an insightful essay on his art. Helnwein’s work concerning the child includes paintings, drawings, and photographs, and it ranges from subtle inscrutability to scenes of stark brutality. Of course, brutal scenes—witness The Massacre of the Innocents—have been important and regularly visited motifs in the history of art. What makes Helnwein’s art significant is its ability to make us reflect emotionally and intellectually on the very expressive subjects he chooses. Many people feel that museums should be a refuge in which to experience quiet beauty divorced from the coarseness of the world. This notion sells short the purposes of art, the function of museums, and the intellectual curiosity of the public. The Child: Works by Gottfried Helnwein will inspire and enlighten many; it is also sure to upset some. It is not only the right but the responsibility of the museum to present art that deals with important and sometimes controversial topics in our society".

Comics and Trivial Art

Another strong element in his work are comics. Helnwein has sensed the superiority of cartoon life over real life ever since he was a child. A magazine interview brought out an explanation of his obsession with Disney characters. Growing up in dreary, destructed post-war Vienna, the young boy was surrounded by unsmiling people haunted by a recent past they could never speak about. What changed his life was the first German-language Donald Duck comic book that his father brought home one day. Opening the book felt like finally arriving in a world where he belonged:

"...a decent world where one could get flattened by steam-rollers and perforated by bullets without serious harm. A world in which the people still looked proper, with yellow beaks or black knobs instead of noses." (Helnwein.

In 2000 the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art presented Helnwein's painting "Mouse I" (1995, oil and acrylic on canvas, 210 cm x 310 cm) at the exhibition The Darker Side of Playland: Childhood Imagery from the Logan Collection.

Alicia Miller commented on Helnwein's work in Artweek: "In 'The Darker Side of Playland', the endearing cuteness of beloved toys and cartoon characters turns menacing and monstrous. Much of the work has the quality of childhood nightmares. In those dreams, long before any adult understanding of the specific pains and evils that live holds, the familiar and comforting objects and images of a child's world are rent with something untoward. For children, not understanding what really to be afraid of, these dreams portend some pain and disturbance lurking into the landscape. Perhaps nothing in the exhibition exemplifies this better than Gottfried Helnwein's 'Mickey'. His portrait of Disney's favorite mouse occupies an entire wall of the gallery; rendered from an oblique angle, his jaunty, ingenuous visage looks somehow sneaky and suspicious. His broad smile, encasing a row of gleaming teeth, seems more a snarl or leer. This is Mickey as Mr. Hyde, his hidden other self now disturbingly revealed. Helnwein's Mickey is painted in shades of gray, as if pictured on an old black-and-white TV set. We are meant to be transported to the flickering edges of our own childhood memories in a time imaginably more blameless, crime-less and guiltless. But Mickey's terrifying demeanor hints of things to come...".

Although Helnwein's work is rooted in the legacy of German expressionism, he has absorbed elements of American pop culture. In the 70s he began to include cartoon characters in his paintings. In several interviews he claimed: "I learned more from Donald Duck than from all the schools that I have ever attended." Commenting on that aspect in Helnwein's work, Julia Pascal wrote in the New Statesman: "His early watercolor Peinlich (Embarrassing)- shows a typical little 1950s girl in a pink dress and carrying a comic book. Her innocent appeal is destroyed by the gash deforming her cheek and lips. It is as if Donald Duck had met Mengele".

Living between Los Angeles and Ireland, Helnwein met and photographed the Rolling Stones in London, and his portrait of John F Kennedy made the front cover of Time magazine on the 20th anniversary of the president's assassination. His Self-portrait as screaming bandaged man, blinded by forks (1982) became the cover of the Scorpions album Blackout. Andy Warhol, Muhammad Ali, William Burroughs and the German industrial metal band Rammstein posed for him; some of his art-works appeared in the cover-booklet of Michael Jackson's History album. Referring to the fall of the Berlin Wall Helnwein created the book Some Facts about Myself, together with Marlene Dietrich. In 2003 he became friends with Marilyn Manson and started a collaboration with him on the multi-media art-project The Golden Age of Grotesque and on several experimental video-projects. 

Examining his imagery from the 1970s to the present, one sees influences as diverse as Bosch, Goya, John Heartfield, Beuys and Mickey Mouse, all filtered through a postwar Viennese childhood.

'Helnwein’s oeuvre embraces total antipodes: The trivial alternates with visions of spiritual doom, the divine in the child contrasts with horror-images of child-abuse. But violence remains to be his basic theme, - the physical and the emotional suffering, inflicted by one human being unto another.' 

Self-Portraits

The self-portrait for the artist's blindfolded unbent head covered with blood occurs twice in Helnwein's triptych The Silent Glow of the Avant-garde (1986). The middle panel shows an enlarged reproduction of Caspar David Friedrich's The sea of Ice, a depiction of a catastrophe of 1823/24 which is generally interpreted as a romantic allegory of the force of nature overpowering all human effort . Helnwein compared the "quietly theatrical" ecstatic attitude of his self-portrait with the heroic pose of the figure of the suffering figure of Sebastian and generalizes both to the stigma of the artist in the 20th century, making him a kind of saviour figure. In addition, its poetic title sets the viewer onto the right track. The visual montage of the modern artist as Man of Sorrows with Friedrich's landscape painting projects the dashed hopes of the romantic rebellion into the present, to the protest thinking of modernity, which has become introverted and masochistic, and its crossing of aesthetic boundaries. Is romanticism making a comeback? - No; actually, it had never left modernity. But its rebellion is confining and introverting itself in the "body metaphysics" of contemporary artists to its own flesh and blood. Thus, the comeback of romanticism leads for Helnwein, too, to stressing just one of its partial aspects, the stylizing in the form of a self-portrait of a protest introverted to martyrdom which historically was once linked in a contradictory way with social opposition, rebellion, and utopia.

References to the Holocaust

Mitchell Waxman wrote 2004, in The Jewish Journal, Los Angeles: "The most powerful images that deal with Nazism and Holocaust themes are by Anselm Kiefer and Helnwein, although, Kiefer’s work differs considerably from Helnwein’s in his concern with the effect of German aggression on the national psyche and the complexities of German cultural heritage. Kiefer is known for evocative and soulful images of barren German landscapes. But Kiefer and Helnwein’s work are both informed by the personal experience of growing up in a post-war German speaking country... William Burroughs said that the American Revolution begins in books and music, and political operatives implement the changes after the fact. To this maybe we can add art. And Helnwein's art might have the capacity to instigate change by piercing the veil of political correctness to recapture the primitive gesture inherent in art.".

One of the most famous paintings of Helnwein's oeuvre is Epiphany I - Adoration of the Magi, (1996, oil and acrylic on canvas, 210 cm x 333cm, collection of the Denver Art Museum). It is part of a series of three paintings: Epiphany I, Epiphany II (Adoration of the Shepherds), Epiphany III (Presentation at the Temple), created between 1996 and 1998. In Epiphany I, SS officers surround a mother and child group. To judge by their looks and gestures, they appear to be interested in details such as head, face, back and genitals. The arrangement of the figures clearly relates to motive and iconography of the adoration of the three Magi, such as were common especially in the German, Italian and Dutch 15th century artworks. Julia Pascal wrote about this work in the New Statesman: "This Austrian Catholic Nativity scene has no Magi bearing gifts. Madonna and child are encircled by five respectful Waffen SS officers palpably in awe of the idealised, blonde Virgin. The Christ toddler, who stands on Mary's lap, stares defiantly out of the canvas." Helnwein's baby Jesus is often considered to represent Adolf Hitler.

Works for the Stage

Helnwein is also known for his stage and costume designs for theater, ballet and opera productions. Amongst them: "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, (director, choreographer: Johann Kresnik) , Theater Heidelberg, 1988, Volksbühne Berlin, 1995; "The Persecution and Murder of Jean Paul Marat, Performed by the Drama Group of the Hospice at Charenton, under Direction of Monsieur de Sade" by Peter Weiss, (director: Johann Kresnik), Stuttgart National Theatre, 1989; "Pasolini, Testament des Körpers", (director: Johann Kresnik), Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, 1996; "Hamletmaschine" by Heiner Müller, (director: Gert Hof), 47. Berliner Festwochen, Berlin 1997, Muffathalle, München, 1997; "The Rake's Progress" by Igor Stravinsky, (director: Jürgen Flimm), at Hamburg State Opera, 2001; "Paradise and the Peri", oratorio by Robert Schumann, (director, choreographer: Gregor Seyffert & Compagnie Berlin), Robert-Schumann-Festival 2004, Tonhalle Düsseldorf; Der Rosenkavalier" by Richard Strauss, (director: Maximilian Schell) at Los Angeles Opera, 2005,[23] and Israeli Opera Tel Aviv, 2006;"Der Ring des Nibelungen, part I, Rheingold und Walküre", choreographic theatre after Richard Wagner, (director, choreographer: Johann Kresnik), Oper Bonn, 2006; "Der Ring des Nibelungen, part II, Siegfried und Götterdämmerung", director, choreographer: Johann Kresnik), Oper Bonn, 2008.

Personal life

Helnwein was born in Vienna. He has four children with his wife Renate: Cyril, Mercedes, Ali Elvis and Wolfgang Amadeus, who are all artists. 

Helnwein  lived in Vienna till 1984,  then he moved to Germany where he lived and worked  till 1997. In 1997 he  moved to Dublin, Ireland.  In 1998 he bought castle Gurteen de La Poer in County Tipperary where he now lives with his family.  Since 2001 he also has a studio in Los Angeles.

In 2004 Helnwein received Irish citizenship.

On December 3, 2005, Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese were married in a private, non-denominational ceremony at Helnwein's castle. The wedding was officiated by surrealist film director and comic book writer Alejandro Jodorowsky, Gottfried Helnwein was best man. They exchanged vows in front of approximately 60 guests, including Lisa Marie Presley.  The wedding pictures appeared in the March 2006 edition of Vogue under the heading "The Bride Wore Purple". 

Prizes and Awards

    * 1970  Maste-class award, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien

    * 1971  Kardinal-König-Preis

    * 1974  Theodor-Körner-Preis

    * 1984  Adolf-Grimme-Award for the Television documentary „Helnwein“         (ZDF/ORF, National German and National Austrian Television)

    * 2006 The Council of the City of Philadelphia  honors and recognizes the artistic contributions of Gottfried Helnwein in keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive.

    * 2006 Governor Erwin Pröll appoints  Gottfried Helnwein Honorable Ambassador of the state of Lower Austria.

    * 2007 "Goose Egg Nugget Award" of the Carl-Barks Society, in Recognition of Significant Artistic Contributions to the Disney Duck Genre and the Carl Barks Legacy.

BIOGRAPHY:

2010     One man show, Crocker Art Museum Sacramento, California

2009     One man show, Friedman Benda Gallery, New York

             "The Disasters of War II", one man show, Modernism Gallery, San Francisco

             One man show, Central European House of Photography, Slovakia, Österreichisches Kulturforum in Bratislava.

             "Ninth November Night", Installation by Gottfried Helnwein, Philadelphia

2008    "Kunst nach 1970", group show, Albertina Museum Vienna

             "The last Child", Installation by Gottfried Helnwein throughout the City of Waterford, Ireland

             "Angels Sleeping", one-man show, Galerie,Rudolfinum, Prague

             "I walk Alone", Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, San Jose. State University

             "Art in Ireland", Fenton Gallery, Cork, Ireland

             "All's Fair in Art and War: Envisioning Conflict", 21C Museum, Louisville, Kentucky

             Stage and Costumes for "Der Ring des Nibelungen II", by Richard Wagner, Opera Bonn, director Johann Kresnik

             The ADAA art show at the Armory New York City, Modernism Gallery, San Francisco

             "Out of Shape - Stylistic Distortions of the Human Form in Art, from the Logan Collection", Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center,Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY

             "Prints", one man show, Greyfriars Municipial Art Gallery, Waterford City, Ireland

             "Lichtspuren", group show, Lentos Museum of Modern Art Linz

2007     "The Disasters of War, In memory of Francisco de Goya", one-man show, Modernism Gallery, San Francisco

             "Death Valley" (2002 - 2006, oil and acrylic on canvas, 120 x 774 cm) is permanently displayed in the Governor's Council Room at the Capitol in Sacramento, California

             "Rembrandt to Thiebaud: a Decade of Collecting Works on Paper", group show, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, De Young

             "Artists on Art: From Any Angle", - Logan Lectures 2007 features lectures by ten contemporary artists" - Gottfried Helnwein at the Denver Art Museum

             Photographic Bogota - group show, International Biennial of Photography, Fotomuseo -The National Museum of Photography

             "Passion for Art - 35 Jahre Essl Museum", group show, Essl Museum, Kunst der Gegenwart, Klosterneuburg, Vienna

             "Concept: Photography- Dialogue & Attitudes. From the Traditional Forms of Photography to Auteur Photography", group show, Ludwig Museum Budapest, Museum of Contemporary Art

             "Once upon a Time Walt Disney: Disney recycled by Contemporary Art", group show, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

             "Body Anxious", group show, Cressman Center Gallery, The University of Louisville - Department of Fine Arts

             "Angels Sleeping", one-man show, Waterford Greyfriars Municipial Art Gallery, Waterford Fringe Festival, Ireland

             "Die Kunst der Verführung, von Schiele bis Warhol", group show, Sammlung Infeld, Minoriten Kloster Tulln, Austria

             The Helnwein Virtual Museum of Art opened in "Second Life." on May 7th 2007

             "Life as a Legend", group show, The Dayton Art Institute

             Gottfried Helnwein curated and organized the retrospective "Donald Duck, ...und die Ente ist Mensch geworden - Das zeichnerische und poetische Werk von Carl Barks." Karikaturmuseum, Krems, Austria

             "The Big Store", group show, Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin

             "Where is Mummy?" group show, Städtische Galerie Theodor von Hörmann, Imst, Tirol, Austria

             "Memory XS", Eine Ausstellungsinstallation über Wolfgang Bauer, group show, MAK Ausstellungshalle, Vienna

2006    "Face it", one-man show, Lentos Museum of Modern Art, Linz

             "Radar", group show, The Logan Collection, Denver Art Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

             "Los Caprichos", one-man show, Modernism Gallery, San Francisco

             "Looking Now", group show, 21c Museum, Louisville, Kentucky

             Stage and costumes for "Der Ring des Nibelungen, part I, Rheingold, Walküre" by Richard Wagner. Opera Bonn, director Johann Kresnik

             "II était une fois Walt Disney", works inspired by the characters and aesthetic of Walt Disney, group show, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais Paris

             "Post Modern Portraiture from the Logan Collection", group show, Logan Museum Vail

             One-man show, Fenton Gallery, Cork, Ireland

             One-man show, Galerie Brockstedt Berlin

             FotoFest 2006, Houston. The Eleventh International Biennial of Photography and Photo-Related Art, "Helnwein - Diary of the Artist Against Violence" group show,

2005    "Beautiful Children", one-man show, Galerie Ludwig Schloss Oberhausen and Wilhelm-Busch Museum, Hannover

             "In Limbo", group show, from the collection of Kent and Vicki Logan and the Denver Art Museum. The University of Denver's Victoria H. Myhren Gallery

            

             "Arte Contemporá nee Austriaco y Pintura de la Posguerra: Colección Essl", group show, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (Marco), México

             "The Other Mainstream", selections from the Collection of Mikki and Stanley Welthorn. group show, The Katherine K. Herberger College of Fine Arts at Arizona State University

             "Andy Warhol, Dale Chihuly, Vincent Van Gogh, Gottfried Helnwein and Diego Rivers", group show, Arkansas Arts Center

             "Superstars: Zum Prinzip Prominenz in der Kunst, von Warhol bis Madonna", group show, Kunsthalle Wien and Kunstforum, Vienna

             "Ninth November Night", Gottfried Helnwein - Documentary. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, Beverly Hills, California

             "Soul", Museum of Modern Art, Ostend, Belgium. Installation: Fall of the Angels

             Cooperation with Maximilian Schell on the opera "Der Rosenkavalier" by Richard Strauss for the Los Angeles Opera. (Set, costumes, make-up, video, lighting). Conductor Kent Nagano

             Cooperation with Marylin Manson on the film-project "Phantasmagoria - The Visions of Lewis Carroll"

            " A Moment in Time", group show, Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin

             "Bilder, die noch fehlten", group show, Künstlerforum, Bonn. Eine Ausstellung des Deutschen Hygiene-Museums Dresden und der Deutschen Behindertenhilfe

 

2004    "The Child - Works by Gottfried Helnwein", one-man show at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco Fine Arts Museums. The show was seen by 127,000 visitors and the San Francisco Chronicle quotes it

                  as the most important exhibition of a contemporary artist in 2004

             "Irish and other Landscapes", one-man show, Crawford Municipal Art Gallery in Cork, Ireland

             "Gesichter machen - das Verschwinden des Portraits", group exhibition, Musée de l'Élysée, Lausanne

             "Das Paradies und die Peri", Multi-Media Installation for the 8th SchumannFest, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Choreography Gregor Seyffert & Compagnie Berlin, with Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and the Chor des Städtischen

                  Musikvereins Düsseldorf, conductor John Fiore

             "Meisterwerke der Medienkunst aus der ZKM Sammlung", group exhibition, Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe, Germany

             "Donald Duck", Cobra Museum of Modern Art, Amsterdam

2003    "Neunter November Nacht", documentary about Helnwein's installation and analysis of his work with themes of violence, fascism and the Holocaust (video, 30 min.). Performers Maximilian Schell, Sean Penn and Jason

                  Lee, director Henning Lohner, producer Gisela Guttman. Museum of Tolerance, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Los Angeles

             "Modern Sleep", 20 x 60 feet, (6 x 18 metres), digital print on vinyl, installation in Los Angeles

             Paradise Burning (American Paintings III), one-man show, Modernism Gallery, San Francisco

             "Comic Release, Negotiating Identity for a new Generation", group show, Regina Miller Gallery, Purnell Center of the Arts, Carnegie Mellon University; The University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson; Western

                  Washington University; Western Gallery Arthouse at the Jones Center, Austin; Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans

             "The Golden Age of Grotesque", cooperation with Marilyn Manson in different photographic and video projects and performances. Exhibition and performance with Marilyn Manson, Volksbühne, Berlin

             "Meisterwerke der Fotografie: Face to Face", group show, Portraitfotografie aus der Sammlung der DGBank, Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart

 

2002    Helnwein establishes a Studio in downtown Los Angeles

             "Downtown", one-man show, Modernism Gallery, San Francisco

             "In the Blink of an Eye - Photo Art (Augenblick - Fotokunst)", group show, Museum Kunst der Gegenwart, Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg/Vienna

             "Portrait Obscured", group exhibition, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art

             "Heaven on Earth", group show, Rubicon Gallery, Dublin

             "Seven", group show, Lead White Gallery, Dublin

 

2001    One-man show at the Butler House Gallery and Installation in the city of Kilkenny at the annual Arts Festival, with large digital prints of children's faces and monochromatic blue scenes on the facades of houses in the

                  medieval town center

             "Malerei - Austrian Artists Now", group show, Albertina, Vienna and Museum der Bildenden Künste, Budapest

             Set and costumes for "Rake's Progress" by Igor Stravinsky in Hamburg State Opera. Director Jürgen Flimm, conductor Ingo Metzmacher

             "Between Earth and Heaven, New Classical Movements in the Art of Today", Museum Moderner Kunst, Oostende, Belgium. Installation Fall of the Angels, 7 x 10 metres, digital print on vinyl

             "Magic Vision", group show, Arkansas Arts Center

             "Berliner Mauer - Kunst für ein Europa im Aufbruch", group show, Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle, Cologne

 

2000    "The Darker Side of Playland: Childhood Imagery from the Logan Collection", group exhibition, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

             One-man show, Robert Sandelson Gallery, London

             Argentine writer Rodrigo M. Malmsten, inspired by Helnwein's works, wrote the drama "Kleines Helnwein", which engages in themes such as fascism and violence, especially directed towards children. Opening in

                  Theatro San Martin in Buenos Aires

             "Augenblicke und Endlichkeit - Das von der Photographie geprägte Jahrhundert. 40 wichtige Photographen des zwanzigsten Jahrhundert", group exhibition, Museum Ludwig, Cologne

             "Ghost in the Shell, Photography and the Human Soul, 1850. - 2000", group exhibition, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

             "Cross Currents in Modern Art, Tribute to Peter Selz", group show, Achim Moeller Fine Art, New York

 

1999    Photo session with Chuck Close in New York

             "Apokalypse", one-man show and installation, Dominikanerkirche, Krems, Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum

             "Innovation/Imagination: 50 years of Polaroid Photography", group show, Anselm Adams Center, San Francisco

             "20 Years of Modernism, Modern Masters and Contemporary Art", group show, Modernism Gallery, San Francisco

 

1998    One-man show, Wäinö Aaltonen Museum, Turku, Finland

             One-man show, Modernism Gallery, San Francisco

             "Choice", Junge Künstler stellen das erste mal aus - ausgewählt von Ida Applebrook, Damien Hirst, Cindy Sherman and Gottfried Helnwein, Exit Art, New York

             "Götter, Helden und Idole", Ludwig Galerie, Schloss Oberhausen, Germany "A Delicate Balance", group exhibition curated by Jerry Kearns, Kent Gallery, New York

 

1997    Helnwein relocated to Ireland with his family and he lives and works in the south of Ireland

             "Helnwein, Retrospektive", State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg. For this exhibition the museum published an extensive artist's monograph (Palace Edition, Könemann Verlag)

             Stage design for Heiner Müller's drama "Die Hamletmaschine", 47 Berliner Festwochen in arena Berlin and in Muffathalle in Munich, director Gert Hof

 

1996    Portraits of Peter and Irene Ludwig for the Ludwig Museum in the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, exhibited for the first time

             Set and costumes for "Pasolini" in the Schauspielhaus Hamburg, director Hans Kresnik

             "Photographic Works from the Collection of the Museum", group show, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

             One-man show, Fine Arts Museum, Otaru, Japan

             Group exhibition for the opening of the Ludwig Museum, Beijing

 

1995    "Versuche zu trauern", master pieces from the Ludwig Collection from antiquity to the present day, group exhibition, Ludwig Galerie Schloss Oberhausen, Germany

             "It's Only Rock'n Roll - Rock and Roll Currents in Contemporary Art", group exhibition, Phoenix Museum of Art, Arizona; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences,

                  Peoria, Illinois; Nexus Contemporary Arts Center, Atlanta, Georgia; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, Cleveland; Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami "Faces", one-man show, Houston Center for

                  Photography

             Peter and Irene Ludwig purchase "Head of a Child" for the Ludwig Museum in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg and "Dresden" for the Ludwig Museum in Beijing.

 

1994    "Faces", one-man show, Centre International d'Art Contemporain de Montréal, Quebec

             "Das Jahrzehnt der Malerei", group show, Werke aus der Sammlung Schömer, Kunstverein, Augsburg, Germany

             One-man show, Mittelrhein Museum, Haus Metternich, Koblenz, Germany

             One-man show, Städtischen Museum, Schleswig, Germany

             Helnwein works intensively on the development of new artistic techniques. On the computer he processes and modifies photographs and paintings, then transfers them to the canvas and develops them further by painting

                  with oil and acrylics

             Installation of a picture of a monochromatic blue face of 25 x 16 metres, digital print on vinyl, on the Hilton Hotel in the city centre of Vienna

1993    "Faces", one-man show, Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn

             One-man show, Joseph Albers Museum, Quadrat Bottrop, Moderne Galerie, Germany

             "48 Portraits" are shown in the "Künstlerportraits" group exhibition in the Ludwig Forum in Aachen, Germany

             "Ansichten von Alexandra S.", group exhibition, Deutsche Fototage, Frankfurt

 

1992    "Faces", One-man show, Goethe Institut Centre culture allemand, Paris

             Photo session with Roy Lichtenstein at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York

             Group exhibition in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

             "White Christmas" installation, Leopold Hoesch Museum, Düren, Germany, for the 4th International Biennale of Paper Art

             First one-man show at the Modernism Gallery in San Francisco

             One-man show, Pfalzgalerie Museum, Kaiserslautern and Kunstmuseum, Thun, Switzerland

             "Aktion-Reaktion - Rainer, Nitsch, Brus und Helnwein in der Sammlung Schömer", Stiftung Fiecht in Austria

             "Faces", one-man show, Stadtmuseum, Munich

 

1991    Meets Charles Bukowski and David Bowie in Los Angeles

             "Some Facts about Myself". Book project with Marlene Dietrich on Berlin after the Wall comes down: Helnwein takes photographs and Marlene Dietrich writes a text. Published by Cantz, Kathleen Madden, New York

             Installation "Kindskopf", Minoritenkirche, Krems, Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum, Austria

             Works on "48 Portraits", a series of 48 monochrome red pictures of women (oil on canvas) as a counterpart to Gerhard Richter's "48 Portraits" from 1971, which depict only men in monochrome grey. The cycle of

                   paintings was first shown in the Galerie Koppelmann in Cologne

 

1990    "Fotografie", one-man show, Musée de l'Élysée, Lausanne

             Helnwein's photographic work from 1970 to 1989 is published by Dai Nipon in Japan, text by Toschiharu Ito

             Set and costumes for "Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats, dargestellt durch die Schauspielgruppe des Hospizes zu Charenton unter Anleitung des Herrn de Sade" (The Persecution and Murder of Jean

                  Paul Marat, Performed by the Drama Group of the Hospice of Charenton under the direction of Monsieur de Sade) by Peter Weiss, directed by Hans Kresnik at the Staatstheater in Stuttgart, Germany

             Work on a fragment of the Berlin Wall for the exhibition project "30 Artists in Berlin", together with Robert Longo, Sol LeWitt, Mimmo Paladino and others

             Photo session with Keith Richards at the Berlin Wall

 

1989    "Zeichnungen und Arbeiten auf Papier", one-man show, Folkwang Museum, Essen

             Torino Fotografia '89 Biennale Internazionale, exhibition with Clegg & Gutmann and David Hockney

             Cooperation with the writer Heiner Müller, choreographer Hans Kresnik and dancer Ismael Ivo on a play about Antonin Artsud

             Work on the set and costumes for "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff at the Bayerische Staatsoper (opening of the 1990 Münchner Festspiele). When Wolfgang Sawallisch, the head of the Staatsoper, sees the radical

                  costume design, he is so shocked that he immediately cancels the contracts with Helnwein and director Hans Kresnik

             Set, costumes, and masks for "Macbeth", a production of Hans Kresnik's choreographic theatre in the Stadttheater in Heidelberg. The play is later awarded the Theatre Prize of Berlin

             "Arbeiten auf Papier", one-man show, Kunstverein Ludwigsburg

             Helnwein meets William S. Burroughs and Norman Mailer in the USA

             Work on a series of drawings and pastels ("Modern Sleep", "Gott in Panik", "Das Wunderkind", "Verbrannter Engel")

 

1988    Installation "Selektion - Neunter November Nacht", four-metre high, hundred-metre long picture lane in which Gottfried Helnwein recalls the "Reichskristallnacht", the beginning of the Holocaust, on 9 November 1938.

                  He confronts the passers-by with larger-than-life children's faces lined up in a seemingly endless row, as if for concentration camp selection

             The poster for Peter Zadek's production of "Lulu" by Frank Wedekind in the Schauspielhaus theatre in Hamburg unleashes a storm of outrage. The Deputy Mayor of Hamburg protests against the picture. A "German

                  Language Citizens Initiative for the Protection of Human Dignity" lays charges against Helnwein und Zadek for pornography. The discussion about this picture spreads beyond the borders of the country. The Mayor

                  of the City of Vienna, Helmut Zilk, is enthusiastic about the poster and gives Helnwein his hearty congratulations

             Participation in the exhibition "Selektion 4, Polaroid-Kunst der letzten 10 Jahre!", Victoria & Albert Museum, London and in the Photokina, Cologne

 

1987    "Der Untermensch - Gottfried Helnwein, Self-Portraits 1970-1987", one-man show, Museé d'Art Moderne, Strasbourg


             The monograph "Der Untermensch", self-portraits from 1979-1987 is published by Verlag Edition Braus. Texts by Heiner Müller and Peter Gorsen

             One-man show, Leopold Hoesch Museum, Düren; Villa Stuck, München

             "Der Untermensch", Installation and performance, Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany

             Parallel to the large-format, multi-part pictures and the photographic work, he now also turns to crayon drawings ("Knabe und Neger", "Triumph der Wissenschaft", "Nachgeburt der Venus", "Das Lügengebet").

 

1986    Work on a series of large-format self-portrait metamorphoses. Beginning of a series of photographic self-dramatisations "Gott der Untermensch", "Das stille Leuchten der Avantgarde", "Türkenfamilie I", "Eine Träne auf

                  Reisen", "Der Tod des Expertentums", "Partisanenliebe", "Blitzkrieg der Liebe", "Geheime Elite", "Gefäss der Leidenschaft"

             One-man show, Freie Volksbühne Berlin, podium discussion "Violence, Sexuality, Antiquity" with Heiner Müller, Hans Neuenfels and Ernest Bornermann

 

1985    "Gottfried Helnwein - Arbeiten von 1970 - 1985", one-man show at the Albertina Museum, Vienna, catalogue with texts by Walter Koschatzky and Peter Gorsen

             Rudolf Hausner proposes Helnwein as his successor as head of the masterclass for painters at the Academy of Visual Arts in Vienna, but Helnwein moves to Germany and lives and works in a castle near Cologne

             He radically changes his way of working and now begins a series of large-format pictures consisting of several parts (diptychs, triptychs, poliptychs). In doing so he combines photomurals with abstract gestural and

                  monochrome painting in oil and acrylic. Also using reproductions of Caspar David Friedrich paintings and war documentary photographs, which he assembles to form what the critic Peter Gorsen calls

                  "Bilderstrassen" (picture lanes)

             Time magazine commissions Robert Rauschenberg and Gottfried Helnwein to design covers with Deng Xiaoping portrait.

 

1984    "Helnwein", the film by Peter Hajek (co-production by ORF-ZDF), opens the Austrian Week in the Berlin film festival, "Berlinale". The film is awarded the Adolf Grimme Prize and in the same year wins the Eduard

                  Rhein Prize and the Golden Kader of the city of Vienna for outstanding camera work.

             "1984 - Orwell und die Gegenwart", group exhibition, Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna

             The office of Soviet foreign minister Gromyko tries to acquire Helnwein's portrait of Gromyko, which appeared as a "Time" cover. But the painting is already part of a collection in the Smithsonian Institute in

                  Washington D.C.

             Helnwein meets Walt Disney artist Carl Barks, creator of the Donald Duck legend. Helnwein maintains that he learned more about art and life from Donald Duck than from all the schools he ever attended.

 

1983    One-man show, Stadtmuseum, Munich. The exhibition was seen by more than a hundred thousand people

             Andy Warhol poses for Helnwein in New York for a series of photos

             In the radio programme "Teestunde" Helnwein uses obscenities to insult the inventor of the neutron bomb, Sam T. Cohen, criticises the education and training system at schools and art schools, draws attention to the

                  high number of student suicides, and calls upon young people simply to stay away from school. The directors of Austria Radio cancel this programme

             ZDF und ORF produce the documentary about Gottfried Helnwein. Part of the film originates in Los Angeles, where Helnwein meets Muhammad Ali, who appears in this film

             "Köpfe und Gesichter", group exhibition in der Kunsthalle Darmstadt, Germany

 

1982    Meets the Rolling Stones in London. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman pose for Helnwein

             Helnwein`s portrait of John F. Kennedy makes the cover for "Time" for the 20th anniversary of the President's death

             Die Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften, Hamburg (University of Visual Art) in Hamburg offers Helnwein a Chair. Helnwein declines the offer

             For "Zeit" magazine, Peter Sager writes a cover story about Helnwein. The self-portrait as a screaming blinded man is used for this cover story and later for the cover of the Scorpions album "Blackout".

             Bavarian TV produces a film portrait of Helnwein, directed by Hans-Dieter Hartl.

 

1981    One-man show, Baumgartner Galleries, Washington

             Begins a series of works about trivial heroes and myths with a painting of the Austrian soccer star Hans Krankl, "The Bomber of the Nation". There followed the pictures of "Peter der Grosse" (Peter Alexander - the

                  Austrian singer) and "Niki Lauda" (the Austrian Formula-1 champion); the NDR-Film "Helnwein malt Lauda" directed by Viktoria vom Fleming. The art establishment and the critics are shocked by these works and

                  reject them. The Austrian playwright Wolfgang Bauer, on the other hand, is enthusiastic about these works and calls them "paintings for eternity". The critic of the "Neue Zeit" reports: "Let us hope that eternity will

                  resist such impertinence". Inspired by Helnwein's James Dean apotheosis, Wolfgang Bauer writes the ballad "Song for Helnwein - Boulevard of Broken Dreams"

             First encounter and start of the friendship with H. C. Artmann, the Austrian poet

             First monograph, texts by H.C. Artmann, Botho Strauß, Wolfgang Bauer and Barbara Frischmuth

 

1980    One-man show with pen-and-ink drawings in the Albertina Museum, Vienna

             Performance (Aktion) in the International Year of the Child R. Höpfinger and E. Regnier hand out sweets and toys bearing texts and Helnwein pictures of wounded and tortured children to passers-by in Zurich

             With an open letter and the picture of a dead child lying with his head in a plate of poisoned food (Lebensunwertes Leben) he protests against Austria's number one forensic psychiatrist, the former euthanasia doctor, Dr.

                  Gross, who admitted in an interview that in the Nazi era he had poisoned hundreds of children and called this method of killing humane

             Helnwein became intensively involved with the phenomenon of the split between High Art and Trivial Art. He saw this as an apartheid situation in 20th century culture.

 

1979    One-man show, Galleria de Naviglio, Milano

 

1977    One-man show, Galerie Spectrum, Vienna Performance "Alt Wien", Vienna

             Seven month stay abroad, studying in the USA. Intensive involvement with the work of Kandinsky and Walt Disney

 

1976    Performance "Allzeit bereit" at the Naschmarkt, Vienna

 

1975    Works on a series of pen-and-ink drawings on thesubject of corrective devices "Metalllippe zum Lächeln", "Korrekturspange", "Das Wannenwunder von Watras", "Assistent Assmann", "Hilfe für Mann ohne Kinn" etc..

 

1974    Theodor-Körner-Prize

             Performance "Weisse Kinder" with 15 bandaged children in Kärntner Strasse, in the centre of Vienna

             ZDF-Film "Helnweins' Sehtest", directed by Heinz Dickmann

             One-man show, Galerie Jasa Fine Art, Munich

 

1973    First edition of etching "Meine Buben haben einen Türken in die Schlucht gestossen"

             More pen-and-ink drawings and performances with children

             ORF-Film "Engagierte Kunst?", directed by E. Kroiss

             One-man show and performance "Sandra" in the Galerie über der Stubenbastei, Vienna

             First cover for the political and cultural magazine "Profil" (Selbstmord in Österreich) showing a little girl slashing her wrists. Strong public reactions; many readers cancel their subscriptions

 

1972    An exhibition of Helnwein paintings in the Galerie des Pressehauses in Vienna is closed after three days because of strong protest and strike threats by the works council

             Work on a series of pen-and-ink, crayon and pencil drawings: "Freud und Leid", "Da kräht er vor Vergnügen, der kleine Mann", "Das Patengeschenk"

             Scratches and scrapes a series of self-portraits and child-photos with luminous stigma

             Performance "Sorgenkind" in the streets of Vienna

 

1971    Kardinal-König-Prize

             First public performances in Vienna in the streets, in coffee houses, etc.

             In an exhibition in the Vienna Künstlerhaus, unidentified people put "Entartete Kunst" (Degenerated Art) stickers on Helnwein's pictures

             At the opening of an exhibition in Galerie D in Mödling, near Vienna, the mayor has pictures by Helnwein confiscated by the police

 

1970    Academy Prize

             First photographic self-portraits with bandages and surgical instruments

             Photo performances with children

             In his attempt to paint a truly bad picture he creates the water-colour "Spezial"

             First one-man exhibition, Nachtgalerie im Atrium, Vienna

             Performance "Die Akademie brennt" (Academy Burning); with two fellow students Helnwein stages a rebellion at the Academy of Visual Arts. The reason is the refusal of the professors to allow the student

             representatives a say in the entrance examination. Professors are locked in and the serious damage is done to property. Helnwein and his colleagues are picked up by the police and charged. The Minister of Science and

             Art declares their actions to be political. Investigation and criminal proceedings are dropped.

 

1969-1973    Studies painting at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste (Academy of FI Arts), Vienna

            

             Work on a series of hyper-realistic paintings of wounded and tortured children

             Intensive research into the various forms of trivial aesthetics such comics, advertising, and film; puts this experience into his work. Water colour: "Unkeusches Kind", "Peinlich", "Gemeines Kind"; first oil painting

             "Mutter, Du hier?", "Führer, wir danken Dir!"

 

1966     First performances for a small audience; the artist cuts his face and hands several times with razor blades, wood-engraving tools, and the edges skis, first bandaging performances

 

1965-1969    Studies at the Höhere Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt (Experimental Institute for Higher Graphic Education) in Vienna

             Walks with his friend Manfred Deix from Venice to Vienna for several days without eating or sleeping.

 

SELECTED COLLECTIONS:

Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art San Francisco

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Art San Francisco

Albertina Museum, Graphische Sammlung Vienna

Ludwig Museum for International Art Beijing

Ludwig Forum for International Art Aachen

Ludwig Museum Cologne

Ludwig Museum Schloss Oberhausen

The State Russian Museum St. Petersburg

The Denver Art Museum Denver

Smithsonian Institution Washington D.C.

Polaroid Collection Photographic Resource Center, Boston University

San Jose Museum of Art San Jose

Arkansas Arts Center Little Rock

Santa Barbara Museum of Art California

21C Museum, International Contemporary Art Foundation Louisville, Kentucky

Museum Folkwang Essen

Musée de l'Elysée Lausanne

ZKM, Museum für neue Kunst, Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe

Lentos Museum of Modern Art Linz Austria

Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn

Josef Albers Museum Bottrop

Leopold Hoesch Museum Düren

Wilhelm Busch Museum Hannover

Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern

Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin

Münchner Stadtmuseum Munich

Die Kunstsammlung der Museumsstiftung Post und Telekommunikation Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg

Centre International d'Art Contemporain de Montreal

The Crawford Municipal Art Gallery Cork, Ireland

Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum Vienna

Essl Collection, Museum for Contemporary Art Vienna

Kunstmuseum Thun Switzerland

Messner Mountain Museum Firmian Schloss Sigmundskron, Bozen

Wäinö Aaltonens Museum Turku, Finland

National Museum of Photography, Fotomuseo, Bogota, Colombia

Alinari National Museum of Photography Florence, Italy

Thom Weisel Collection San Francisco

Kunstwerk - Museum und Sammlung Alison u. Peter W. Klein Eberdingen

Vicki and Kent Logan Collection Denver

William Kaper Jr.Collection New York

Mikki and Stanley Weithorn Collection New York

Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection London

Ben Kingsley Collection London

Guinness Collection London

DG Bank Collection Frankfurt

H.R. Giger Museum Collection Chateau St. Germain / Switzerland

Gruber Collection, Museum Ludwig Cologne Cologne

Jason Lee Collection Los Angeles

Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung Hamburg

Benedikt Taschen Collection Cologne

Robert Wilson Collection New York

Niarchos Collection Greece

Billy Wilder Collection Los Angeles

Günther and Carola Peill Collection Cologne

Hans Dichand Collection Vienna

Hans Janitschek New York

Michael Cohen New York

Klaus Kiefer Essen

Arnold Schwarzenegger Collection Los Angeles

Modernism Gallery San Francisco

Don and Cecilia Chan San Francisco, Paris, Singapour

Aston und Eileen Pereira San Francisco

Ginger and Les Crane San Francisco

Lindsay and Peter Joost San Francisco

Thomas Lundstrom San Francisco

Barnaby Conrad III San Francisco

Penny and Jim Coulter San Francisco

Frederika and Herbert Koch Vienna

Kurt and Veronika Fliegerbauer Munich

Carl Djerassi London, San Francisco

Georg Lutz Berlin

Holger Timm Berlin

Antje Vollmer Berlin

Sean Penn San Francisco

Maximilian Schell Los Angeles, Austria

Giovanni Ribisi Los Angeles

Peter Gorsen Vienna

Peter Selz Berkeley

Robert Reynolds Los Angeles

Robert Lanigan Ireland

Alice Schwarzer Cologne

Dick and Gisela Gutmann Los Angeles

Francoise Rust-Forteau London

Paul and Cindy Levy Hawaii

Gregory Koll Oakloand

Luke Brugnara Collection San Francisco

Neil Shicoff Vienna

Dillard Denson and Larry Curbow Little Rock

Fred Poe Little Rock

Bruno Franzen Zurich

Alain Borer Paris

Robert Sandelson London

Marilyn Manson Los Angeles

Kevin Smith Los Angeles

Nicolas Cage Los Angeles

Tracy Westen Los Angeles

Jessica Roth Ireland

John Ludlum Ireland

Javier Baz Denver

William Friedkin Los Angeles

Ruth Vitale Los Angeles, New York

Ben Foster Los Angeles

Reinhold Messner Italy

Helmut Ditsch Argentina, Ireland

Henning Lohner Los Angeles, Berlin

Marius Mueller-Westernhagen Hamburg

Beck Hansen Los Angeles

Johann Kresnik  Germany, Austria

Infeld Collection Vienna

Kathleen Grzegorek and Jamil Tahir-Kheli Los Angeles

Günter Braus Collection Heidelberg

A.M.Brunner Collection Vienna

Georg Stumpf Collection Vienna

Christian Baha Collection Zürich

Alexander Schütz Collection Vienna

Gernot Friedhuber Collection Los Angeles, Vienna

Arnold Hirschl Collection Linz

Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown Collection Louisville, Kentucky

Andorfer Collection, Vienna

INSTALLATIONS:

* "Der Untermensch", Installation and Performance, Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany, 1987

* "Ninth November Night", Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany, 1988

* "Ninth November Night", Musee'De L'Elysee Lausanne, Switzerland, 1990

* "Kindskopf", Minoriten Church, Museum of Lower Austria, Krems, Austria, 1991

* "White Christmas", Leopold Hoesch Museum, Düren, 4th international Biennale of

              Paper Art, Germany, 1992

* "Ninth November Night", City center of Heilbronn, Germany, 1992

* "Ninth November Night", Museum St. Ingbert, Albert Weisgerber Stiftung,

              Saarbrücken,  Germany, 1993

*"Epiphany", Installations in the medival city center of Kilkenny, Kilkenny Arts Festival, 

              Ireland, 2001

* "Modern Sleep", Santa Monica, Los Angeles, USA, 2003

* "Ninth November Night", Ludwig Institut, Schloss Oberhausen, Germany, 1995

* "Ninth November Night", Kulturbrauerei, Berlin, Germany, 1996

* "Ninth November Night", Museum of Fine Art, Otaru, Japan, 1996

* "Ninth November Night", The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1997

* "Ninth November Night", Philadelphia, USA, 2008

* "The last Child" City of Waterford, Ireland, 2008

PERFORMANCES:

1966-67 Several Aktiones with self-wounding and bandages for a small audiences, Wien

1986, Aktion, "Deutschland über Alles", Turnierplatz, Schlosspark Laxenburg,bei Wien

1971, Aktion "Horch", Mödling bei Wien

1972, Aktion "Sorgenkind", Wien

1972, Aktion "Eternal Youth", Wien

1973, Aktion "Hallo Dulder",  Wien

1973, Aktion "St. Stefan" (mit Robert Schöller), Wien

1973, Aktion "Sandra", Galerie Stubenbastei, Wien

1973, Aktion "Pinocchio", Wien 1973

1973, Aktion "Pinocchio ||", Wien

1974, Aktion "Weisse Kinder", Kärntnerstrasse, Wien

1975, Aktion  "Ordnung muss sein", Galerie Brandstätter, Wien

1976, Aktion "Alt Wien", Cafe Alt Wien, Wien

1976, Aktion "Allzeit bereit", Naschmarkt Wien

1977, Aktion "Mine-Disaster" (Grubenunglück), Wien

1977, Aktion "1000 Jahre" (mit DeEs Schwertberger, Jochen Wahl, Robert Schöller),

                            Klagenfurt

1982, Aktion "Kind und Kegel",  mit Sohn Cyril, Frankfurt

1983, Aktion "Trio", mit Stefan Remmler und Peter Behrens, zur Eröffnung der

                            Helnwein Retrospektive, Münchner Stadtmuseum

1984, Aktion "Lasset die Kleinen zu mir kommen", Hamburg

1987, Aktion "Der Untermensch" , Kunsthalle Bremen, Bremen

1987, Aktion "Gott der Untermenschen", Kopal-Kaserne, österreichischen Bundesheer,

     St. Pölten- Spratzern - Panzerbrigade 10, PzB 10 (Camp Kopal of the

     Austrian Army) St. Pölten-Spratzern, Niederösterreich

2003, Aktion "The Golden Age" mit Marilyn Manson, Volksbühne Berlin

PUBLICATIONS:

MONOGRAPHS:

Gottfried Helnwein, Angels Sleeping, retrospective, Galerie Rudolfinum Prague, 2008

Petr Nedoma

The last Child, An Installation by Gottfried Helnwein in the City of Waterford

              Waterford City, Ireland, 2008 John Ennis

Face it, Works by Gottfried Helnwein, One man show, Lentos Museum of Modern Art

              Linz, 2006 Stella Rollig, Thomas Edlinger, Nava Semel

The Child, Works by Gottfried Helnwein. One man exhibition, San Francisco Fine Arts

              Museums, The California Palace of the Legion of Honor", 2004 Robert Flynn

              Johnson, Harry S. Parker

Irish and other Landscapes, one man show, The Crawford Municipal Gallery, Cork, 2004

              Peter Murray

Helnwein - Ninth November Night, The Documentary Museum of Tolerance, Simon

              Wiesenthal Center, Los Angeles, 2003 Jonathon Keats, Simon Wiesenthal

Helnwein, Installation in the city center of Kilkenny one-man show at the Butler House

              Gallery, Kilkenny Kilkenny Arts Festival, Kilkenny, Ireland, 2001 Clare

              O’Donoghue and Mic Moroney

Helnwein, one man show, Robert Sandelson Gallery, London, 2000

              Robert Flynn Johnson

“Apokalypse”, Installation and one man show, Niederösterreichishes Landesmuseum

              (Museum of Lower Austria), 1999. Alf Krauliz, Peter Zawrel and Wolfgang Bauer

Helnwein, Retrospective, The State Russian Museum St. Petersburg, 1997.

              Alexander Borovsky, Curator for Contemporary Art Klaus Honnef, Peter Selz,

              William Burroughs, Heiner Müller, H.C. Artmann.

Helnwein, one man show, Fine Arts Museum Otaru, Japan, 1996

              Chikako Imai, Evgenia Petrova and Alexander Borovsky

Helnwein, Benedikt Taschen, Cologne, 1992. Anreas Mäckler

Helnwein Faces, Edition Stemmle, Zürich 1992. William S. Burroughs, Heiner Müller

              and Reinhold Mißelbeck

Helnwein, one man show, Kunstmuseum Thun, Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern,

              1992. Gisela Fiedler-Bender and Georg Dolezal

Malerei muss sein wie Rockmusik Gottfried Helnwein im Gespräch mit Andreas Mäckler

              Beck’sche Reihe, Munich, 1992

Kindskopf, Installation in the Minoritten Church, Krems Niederösterreichisches

              Landesmuseum, Vienna, 1991. Peter Zawrel, William Burroughs

Some Facts About Myself, Photographs by Gottfried Helnwein, Edition Kathleen

              Madden, New York, 1990. Text by Marlene Dietrich.

Helnwein (Self-Portraits 1970-1987). Dai Nippon Printing, Tokyo, 1989 Published by

              Tosiharu Ito

Fourteen Photographs Edition Kathleen Madden, New York, 1989. Gottfried Helnwein,

              text by Norman Mailer

Gottfried Helnwein (works on paper 1969-1989), one man show. Folkwang Museum

              Essen, Kunsthalle Bremen, Kunstverein Ludwigsburg, 1989.  Hubertus Froning

Helnwein – der Untermensch (Self-Portraits 1970-1987) one man, Museum of Modern

              Art, Strasbourg Edition Braus, Heidelberg, 1988. Peter Gorsen and Heiner Müller

Helnwein – Ninth November Night, Installation between the Ludwig Museum and the

              Dome of Cologne, Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, 1988

              Reinhold Mißelbeck, Simon Wiesenthal, Heiner Müller

Gottfried Helnwein, one man show, Mittelrhein Museum, Koblenz, Leopold Hoesch

              Museum, Düren, Galerie Würthle, Vienna, 1986. Dorothea Eimert, Hans Dichand

              and Kurt Eitelbach

Helnwein, Works from 1970-1985, one man show,  Albertina Museum, Vienna, 1983

              Walter Koschatzky, Peter Gorsen, Klaus Hartung And H.C. Artman

Helnwein, Nicolai Verlag, Berlin 1984. Wolfgang Bauer

Helnwein, Orac-Pietsch, Vienna, 1981. H.C. Artman, Wolfgang Bauer, Barbara

              Frischmuth, Botho Strauss, Karlheinz Roschitz

Helnwein ‘Unheimliche Geschichten’ Edgar Allan Poe, drawings by Gottfried Helnwein

              Kunstverlag Weingarten, 1979. Walter Koschatzky

 

FILMS:

  • "Engagierte Kunst?", (Österreich),  Gottfried Helnwein, Aktion "Sandra" , eine

                                          Dokumentation von Erich Kroiss, ORF

1974 "Helnweins Sehtest", (Deutschland), Ein Maler sucht sein Publikum, Gottfried              

                            Helnwein,  ein Film von Heinz Dieckmann, 45 Minuten

1981 "Helnwein" (Deutschland), ein Film von Viktoria von Flemming, NDR, 15 Minuten

1982 "Helnwein, ein Portait", (Deutschland), ein Film von Hans-Dieter Hartl,

                            Bayerisches Fernsehen.

1984 "Helnwein",   (Österreich/Deutschland), Film von Peter Hajek, Coproduktion ORF-

                            ZDF, Eröffnungsfilm der Österreichwoche der Berlinale. Mitwirkende:

                            Gottfried Helnwein, seine Frau Renate, seine drei Kinder  und Muhammad

                            Ali.  Der Film wird mit dem Adolf-Grimme-Preis ausgezeichnet und gewinnt

                            in demselben Jahr den Eduard- Rhein-Preis sowie den Goldenen Kader der

                            Stadt Wien für hervorragende Kameraarbeit,  45 Minuten.

1999  “Chuck Close, Gottfried Helnwein, Jason Brooks”, La photo n’est rien, sa

                            reproduction est tout - ou le retour du photoréalisme. www.arte-tv.com

2003 "Neunter November Nacht", (USA), eine Dokumentation über die Installation

                            zwischen Kölner Dom und Museum Ludwig zur Erinnerung an die

                            Reichskristallnacht und andere Arbeiten von Gottfried Helnwein zum Thema

                            Holocaust., von Henning Lohner, Kommentatoren: Sean Penn, Maximilian

                            Schell, Jason Lee. Premiere; Museum of Tolerance, Simon Wiesenthal

                            Center, Los Angeles, 10. November 2003, 23 Minuten.

2003 "Doppelherz" (USA), ein Film von Marilyn Manson, Art Direction: Gottfried

                            Helnwein, Location: Studio Helnwein, Los Angeles

2004 "Donald Duck: Meer Dan een Eend", (Niederlande), Productie: Marijke Huijbregts,

                            Regie en samenstelling:  , Amsterdam, 30. Mai 2004

2006 "Der Provokateur" (Österreich), ein Film über Gottfried Helnwein, ein Film von

                            Claudia Teissig Susanna Schwarzer,  ORF/3sat, 3. Mai 2006, 45 Minuten

2008 "Die Stille der Unschuld", a documantary about Gottfried Helnwein, National

                            German Television (WDR/3sat), 100 minutes, director: Claudia Schmid