Zoom
1951 Tragwein - 2003 Vienna
- Title
- untitled (from the Sri Lanka period)
- Time
- 2002
- Technique
- oil on molino fabric
- Measurements
- 65,4×92,5 in
Sri Lanka – endless sandy beaches, turquoise blue sea, a wide variety of wildlife and lush vegetation with palm groves and dense jungle. Gottfried Mairwöger travelled to the island state in the Indian Ocean in the winter of 2001/2002. The incomparable colors of nature as well as the rich culture and not least the unique light of the tropics – all this culminated in Mairwöger’s Sri Lankan period with a series of particularly energetic and colorful paintings.
Travel was an essential part of Gottfried Mairwöger’s work. The formative impressions, the new colors and the unique light of a distant country were his most important inspiration. Mairwöger has captured the splendor and diversity of Sri Lanka in his inimitable style and speaks to the viewer in an intuitive, subconscious way. Much more directly and authentically than a photograph ever could, the artist allows us to share in his experiences.
Born in Tragwein (Upper Austria) in 1951, Gottfried Mairwöger studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from 1971, first under Josef Mikl and from 1973 under Wolfgang Hollegha. The American art critic Clement Greenberg and Prince Karel Schwarzenberg were among his patrons. Numerous exhibitions at home and abroad and the award of the Monsignore Otto Mauer Prize in 1982 testify to the success of the artist, who died far too young in 2003. Today Gottfried Mairwöger, whose works can be found in renowned international collections, is considered one of the most important representatives of Austrian color field painting.