{"id":64632,"date":"2023-10-12T05:19:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T04:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=64632"},"modified":"2025-08-11T09:33:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T08:33:56","slug":"gottfried-helnwein-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/gottfried-helnwein-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"Gottfried Helnwein exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/helnweinsmall1.jpg\" alt=\"Exhibition poster\" class=\"wp-image-65318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/helnweinsmall1.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/helnweinsmall1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve been looking forward to this ever since it was announced. Paintings that move you through their skill, subject, message and motif. The Albertina delivers another year-end gift with their Gottfried Helnwein exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Focus on the last three decades of Helnwein&#8217;s art<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provocative with purpose<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Astonishing photorealistic paintings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>43 works in total<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Runs Oct 25, 2023 to Feb 11, 2024<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/albertina\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2995\">Albertina overview<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/contemporary-art\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"25652\">Contemporary art<\/a> in Vienna<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reality and Fiction<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/helnwein2.jpg\" alt=\"Gottfried Helnwein\" class=\"wp-image-64597\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/helnwein2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/helnwein2-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Gottfried Helnwein, The Disasters of War 76, 2020, oil and acrylic on canvas; private Collection \u00a9 Gottfried Helnwein | Bildrecht Vienna, 2023)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every now and then you see a piece of art that has some powerful visceral impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps a thing of beauty that adds sweet curves to the rough edges of life. Or something with a harrowing undertone that clings to you like the smell of brine at the seaside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in 2020, just as I was dipping early toes into contemporary art, I wandered around the Albertina&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/warhol-to-richter-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"25132\">Warhol to Richter<\/a> exhibition. The pieces within have slipped through the sieve that claims to be my memory. With one notable exception:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Epiphany 1 (The Adoration of the Magi 3)<\/em>, painted in 2013 by the internationally-acclaimed Austrian artist, Gottfried Helnwein (b.1948).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nazi officers encircle a young mother in a Madonna pose; the child standing on her lap a kind of baby Hitler. It&#8217;s magnetic and incredibly disconcerting, sinister even. I find it hard to look at now. But hard to look away, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To see what I mean, take a trip around the Albertina in late 2023 or early 2024, where the painting forms part of the <em>Gottfried Helnwein: Reality and Fiction<\/em> exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Nazi era is one of Helnwein&#8217;s themes, his sociocritical viewpoint a warning (and one perhaps never more relevant than in the current times, as the world seems intent on repeating the mistakes of the past).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/helnwein1.jpg\" alt=\"Gottfried Helnwein painting\" class=\"wp-image-64596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/helnwein1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/helnwein1-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Gottfried Helnwein, Pink Mouse 2, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas; ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna \u00a9 Gottfried Helnwein | Bildrecht Vienna, 2023)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Helnwein uses motifs and metaphors to tackle other &#8220;sensitive&#8221; topics, like the instrumentalisation of children or violence against minors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You suspect some people would rather sweep such uncomfortable themes under the carpet, thus confirming the importance of Helnwein&#8217;s art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The artist himself notes in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.helnwein.de\/artist\/interviews\/article_6019-Conformity-is-no-Place-for-me\">2021 interview<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I hate injustice and I hate to see people being hurt, abused, humiliated and suppressed. Maybe some consider this radical and think of me as a pain in the ass. They are welcome, but I have no intention to shut up.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The exhibition focuses on the artist&#8217;s output during the last three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I found the works seem to tug at your mind, asking more questions than they might answer. A fairytale figure where something is just not&#8230; &#8220;right&#8221;. A manga-style figure in an unusual context. A popular children&#8217;s character engaging with a Nazi dictator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quite apart from the motifs, the stunning photorealistic quality of some works left me slack-jawed in disbelief. What look like staged photos turn out to be oil paintings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, of course, <em>Epiphany 1<\/em> right at the end to ensure I left the Albertina with goosebumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tickets\">Dates, tickets &amp; tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Find your way around Gottfried Helnwein&#8217;s art from October 25th, 2023 to February 11th, 2024. An entrance ticket for or from the Albertina includes the special exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The changing of the year is a time of many treats in the Vienna art world. Check the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"37363\">exhibition listings<\/a> for highlights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>May I recommend, though, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/michelangelo\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"62279\">Michelangelo and Beyond<\/a> exhibition just a couple of floors above Helnwein (runs until January 14th, 2024)? It features depictions of the human form by the Renaissance great and those who followed: from Raphael and Rembrandt to Klimt and Schiele.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get there<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Simply use the travel tips at the foot of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/albertina\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2995\">main Albertina article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1zfWanf5rPBbnTLLDuah2uixe-Nw\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A look back at the last three decades of work by this internationally-acclaimed Austrian artist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-64632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-museums","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64632"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85074,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64632\/revisions\/85074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}