Gottfried Helnwein

"Helnwein studied at the University of Visual Art in Vienna (German: 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 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.^"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Helnwein

Gottfried Helnwein, "Beautiful Victim", watercolor, 1974

Gottfried Helnwein, "Epiphany I (Adoration of the Magi)", mixed media on canvas, 1996

"Sehnsucht", (Rammstein), album cover artwork by Gottfried Helnwein, 1997

"The Golden Age of Grotesque", (Marilyn Manson), photographs by Gottfried Helnwein, 2003

This artist has a very large gallery of different media. Just about all of it has something shocking or disturbing about it. I'll take a better look at him when I'm comparing him with all the other artists I've studied.

Daniel Richter

Daniel Richter
Jawohl und Gomorrah
2001
oil on canvas
225 x 370cm


Daniel Richter
Still
2002
Oil and Ink on Canvas
280 x 380cm


Daniel Richter
Gedion
2002
Oil and Ink on Canvas
306 x 339cm


Daniel Richter
Trevelfast
2004
Oil on canvas
283 x 232cm


Daniel Richter
Those who are here again
2002
Oil and lacquer on Canvas
259 x 393cm

I find this artwork to be quite similar to Otto Dix and other such German artists I have studied so far. Strange, mysterious, but is getting some kind of point across...at least to those who can understand it...

I'll do some more thorough compare and contrast after I write about one more artist...

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/daniel_richter.htm

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was born in Krefeld, Germany in 1921. His family was loyal catholic and he grew up pursuing his interests in art and natural science. From 1940 to 1945, he served in the military as a combat pilot and radio operator. He was seriously wounded numerous times throughout these five years. One time, he claimed, he crashed in the Crimea and was rescued by a tribe known as the Tartars. To heal him and keep him warm, they rubbed him with fat and wrapped him in felt. This, he said, inspired him to use fat and felt as materials in his artwork.

He then attended the Düsseldorf Academy of Art and learned how to sculpt. After he graduated in 1952, he took up drawing and made thousands throughout the decade. He added sculpture to his art years later.

http://www.walkerart.org/archive/4/9C43FDAD069C47F36167.htm

Joseph Beuys, Table III Chest, 1953, Schellmann Art Production

Joseph Beuys, Lamp, 1960, Schellmann Art Production

Joseph Beuys, kunst = kapital, 1981, MDZ Art Gallery

Joseph Beuys, Olivestone (Prototype), 1984, Sale Date: Feb 7, 2007

http://www.artnet.com/artist/2430/joseph-beuys.html

Neo Rauch

"Neo Rauch (born 18 April 1960, in Leipzig, East Germany) is a German artist whose paintings mine the intersection of his personal history with the politics of industrial alienation. His work reflects the influence of socialist realism, and owes a debt to Surrealists Giorgio de Chirico and René Magritte, although Rauch hesitates to align himself with surrealism. He studied at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig, and he lives in Markkleeberg near Leipzig, Germany and works as the principal artist of the New Leipzig School. ^[1]

Rauch's paintings suggest a narrative intent but, as art historian Charlotte Mullins explains, closer scrutiny immediately presents the viewer with enigmas: "Architectural elements peter out; men in uniform from throughout history intimidate men and women from other centuries; great struggles occur but their reason is never apparent; styles change at a whim."^[2]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_Rauch

Rauch's paintings are well-known for matching real with surreal in a somewhat convincing fashion. Characters interact with other characters that mismatch the supposed time-period or world.

http://www.cmoa.org/international/the_exhibition/artist.asp?rauch

(Titles Not Given)

http://www.lostateminor.com/2007/08/15/neo-rauch-at-the-met/