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1932 Innsbruck – 2011 Vienna
- Title
- „California Revisited“
- Time
- 2001
- signed
- and dated lower right "Prachensky 01"
- Technique
- acryl on hand-made paper
- Measurements
- 30¾×20¾ (including frame: 37×27¼ in.) in
Markus Prachensky is considered one of Austria’s best-known contemporary artists and one of the most important representatives of European Art Informel. After studying architecture and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, he co-founded the artists’ group associated with the Galerie nächst St. Stephan together with Josef Mikl, Arnulf Rainer, and Wolfgang Hollegha. In 1957, Prachensky became a member of the Vienna Secession; from 1982 to 2000, he headed the master class for painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
From the very beginning, travel played a central role in the artist’s oeuvre. It served as a source of inspiration for new series of works and endowed his painting with an open, international dimension. In 1967, at the age of 35, Prachensky moved to Los Angeles and established a studio in Westwood Village. For three years, the young painter lived and worked in the “Golden State.” This formative period in a city overflowing with creativity, together with the surrounding unique desert landscapes and salt lakes, had a lasting impact on his artistic development.
More than 30 years later, in 1999 and 2000, Prachensky decided to return to California. The 2001 series “California Revisited” is inspired by the impressions of this rediscovery as a mature artist. Against a black ground, the colors applied in broad, powerful brushstrokes unfold a remarkable luminosity, evoking the striking contrast between the dark desert landscapes and the glittering skylines of Californian nights.