Gottfried Helnwein Austria, b. 1948

Gottfried Helnwein (b. 1948, Vienna) is an artist of Irish descent who lives and works between Ireland and the United States. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.

Helnwein is known for his hyperrealist paintings that confront unsettling and controversial subjects. Central to his work is the depiction of children as figures exposed to pain and violence, through which he critiques political realities and addresses the legacy of Nazism and the Holocaust working across painting, photography, installation, and performance.

Among his many international solo exhibitions are those held at the Modern Art Museum of San Francisco; the Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco; the Wilhelm Busch Museum, Hanover; the Musée d’Art Moderne, Strasbourg; the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; and the Albertina Museum, Vienna. In Mexico, a notable exhibition was presented at the Museo Nacional de San Carlos.