Epitaphy III, (Presentation at the Temple), mixed media, oil, acrylicHelnwein's precise photo-realism presents all these images with a bland unemotional detachment, and the evidence is much more compelling as a result. Skin, lips, eyes and hair are painted with dispassionate care in acrylic over digital prints of the original photographs. The wrinkled skin of a dead foetus seems somehow no less healthy than the smooth complexion of a contemporary young woman in a large portrait nearby. On the surface, all these images seem to be quite sanitary, yet their subject matter says otherwise.
There are no subjective brushstrokes in evidence, no smears, no mess, no distortion, no anger. And so the images speak loudly, clearly and shockingly. John Hendry
Helnwein, Gottfried, b. Vienna, Oct. 8, 1948, painter and graphic artist. From 1969 studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts with R. Hausner, started painting injured children, from 1975/1976 developed a realistic, photo-like painting style, confronting the observer with shocking scenes of violence in his paintings; from 1981 painted series of pictures of minor heroic figures; from 1985 pictures in several parts, often based on such themes as war and National Socialism; from 1994 made use of electronic picture processing for his works.
The artist's site
Mother, Is It You?, oil
(watercolor)
The Song I, watercolor
The Incident (detail), watercolor
Midnight Mickey, oil, acrylic
Intrusion, watercolor, pencil
Self Portrait, watercolor
Self Portrait, watercolor
Meeting, mixed media, oil and acrylic 
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