Breathless" exhibition

Helnwein in Gmunden

Jesus as a child with the five wounds in a church on Lake Traunsee

(Bild: Wenzel Markus/Markus Wenzel)

Gottfried Helnwein is not going quietly. After the "shock painter" turned down a work for Easter at the Steffl in Vienna, he is now showing the scandalous cloth in Gmunden, Upper Austria. A large, remarkable exhibition of his work can also be seen here from now on. He sees his "year of attacks against him" as being fueled by conservative sides, he says in the "Krone" talk. He has no objections to a museum in Vienna.

There is no looking away with Gottfried Helnwein. Because of his hyper-realistic, often gloomy depictions of children, Helnwein is considered a "shock painter". He remains true to this description in the exhibition "Breathless": in the Kammerhof museums and in the Bürgerspitalkirche in the Traunsee town of Gmunden, he is showing what his art is all about until 28 July - from iconic images of injured children to large-format portraits that take a harrowing look at the human soul. Mickey Mouse motifs and subjects featuring Marilyn Manson are also included - a remarkable show.

"My work has actually always been an attempt to come to terms with or react to what affects me," says Helnwein, see also the "Krone" interview further down the page.

Gottfried Helnwein in Gmunden

(Bild: Wenzel Markus/Markus Wenzel)

Next stir in sight - and a museum
Most recently, Helnwein had shown a bloody child, a child in Nazi uniform and two kissing children on building facades in Gmunden. All the works were taken down earlier than planned, as we reported. There were attacks, "politically motivated", he says.

There were also uproars at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna around Easter: On the one hand, Helnwein had hung a replica of the Shroud of Turin there, and on the other, the chancel with Jesus Christ was covered upside down. However, the originally planned "Easter Shroud" was no longer presented following a decision by the cathedral chapter, as we reported.

However, this exact work - the Christ Child with five wounds - has now been hung in the Bürgerspitalkirche in Gmunden - and it will once again be a topic of conversation.

View of the exhibition

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

Helnwein in the "Krone" interview

(Bild: Wenzel Markus/Markus Wenzel)

Gottfried Helnwein in the "Krone" interview:
"Krone": You wanted to show a child with the wounds of Christ in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna at Easter. It was called off by the cathedral chapter. Now the work hangs in the Bürgerspitalkirche in Gmunden. Why are you showing the child with the wounds?
Gottfried Helnwein: If you look at Christian, Catholic iconography, you will notice that Jesus is always depicted in two forms: Once as a bearded man with long hair, once as a child. Now I depict Jesus as a child, just like thousands of artists before me, and the stigmata are not my invention either. That belongs to the center of the mysticism of Christianity. I only refer to the dogmas and iconography of the church - I found it absurd to deny that. Of course, it also portrays the child as a victim of violence. Now it can be seen in Gmunden.

If there are emotions, it just shows that I'm putting my finger in the right place. Both in politics and in society.

Gottfried Helnwein

"Krone": There was also an uproar in Gmunden because you showed a bloody child, one in a Nazi uniform and kissing children on facades here.
Yes, it was quiet for a long time, but now there is a new wave of attacks. The attacks against me are politically motivated, they come from the far right, it's actually completely unqualified. It has relatively little to do with my art. But it also makes a lot visible: my work doesn't leave people cold! And my work is not focused on a small insider audience, as is the case with many other artists.

Do you still feel offended?
I'm used to it, it's part of my work. There have always been attacks right from the start. But in the 50 years I've been exhibiting, 99 percent of the people who see it are enthusiastic. People keep coming up to me on the street and thanking me because it was important to see the pictures.

The idea of setting up a Helnwein Museum in the Academy of Sciences in Vienna has come up. What do you think of this?
I was repeatedly asked about a museum, Erwin Pröll already tried several times, but the time was not ripe then. It has to make sense! And now the City of Vienna has approached me, they are very interested. There have been preliminary talks and I am open to them. Various possible locations are being discussed, but I'm not directly involved, I'm only in talks with the City of Vienna.

If so, will there be a Helnwein Museum in Vienna?
The interest is there, yes. It would certainly be the most successful artists' museum with the highest number of visitors, many people would come from all over the world.