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During the past several years, the concepts of decadence have begun to appear more and more in art theory, often in relation to current art. Decadence is one of the continual properties of modern art. The commonness of the concept of decadence, or its parallel existence outside of the sphere of art, also enables new methodological processes and combinations, and discovers new territories and relationships. Decadent art is excessive, it exceeds the level of what is generally acceptable, and it provocatively demolishes the most sensitive taboos. Decadence is also firmly connected to the clear stance of outsider individualism. ...

On ne peut pas ne pas remarquer que les artistes présents à la Biennale du Whitney sont méthodiquement mis en avant par leurs galeries – mais certains prétendront que c’est plutôt l’inverse qui se produit, et que les grosses galeries commerciales dictent les choix des curators. Si la crise explique à la fois le renouveau bienvenu des galeries et certaines inégalités, nous choisirons comme œuvres emblématiques de l’Armory Show 2010 la danseuse de Degas renversée par Richard Jackson à la galerie GP&N Vallois (Paris) et le regard troublant, tenace, de l’enfant peinte par Gottfried Helnwein à la galerie Friedman Benda (New York) : bouleversements, doutes, mais qualité. ...

Linz - Die bisher umfassendste Sammlungspräsentation des Linzer Kunstmuseums Lentos wurde am Mittwoch in einer Pressekonferenz mit Direktorin Stella Rollig und Kuratorin Elisabeth Nowak-Thaller präsentiert. Unter dem Titel "You never know what will happen next..." sind knapp 200 Werke von mehr als 120 Künstlern bis Ende November zu sehen. Im Pop-Art-Raum (1970 bis 1979) ist gleich dreimal Disneys berühmte Maus zu sehen: Sie ist sowohl Teil von Claes Oldenburgs "Geometrische Maus" als auch von Jim Dines "Picabia III", eine moderne und beängstigende Variante von Mickey zeigt Gottfried Helnweins "The Golden Age 1 (Marilyn Manson)". ...

Helnwein's realization of the final scene takes the breath away: a view of dozens of bloodied children's bodies, some of them hanging, some of them turning over and over in mid-air, as a vocal ensemble sings their words while kneeling on stage.
This vision connects eerily with an exhibition in the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre plaza, adapted from one the Austrian Artist mounted in Cologne in 1988, marking the 50th anniversary of the Nazis' anti-Jewish Kristallnacht. It shows two rows of innocent, haunted-looking child's faces, one row with eyes open; the other with eyes closed, lined up as if in a concentration camp (Selektion is the exhibit's title). ...

Famous Austrian designer and artist Gottfried Helnwein designed the set and costumes for “The Child Dreams” Opera.  He also presents his work outside the opera. Helnwein says his work and the playwright’s have a strong internal connection.
 Gottfried Helnwein: “In my work, the center of everything was always the child, the child versus the world of death, the world of corruption, the world of greed and destruction, and the child standing for innocence, purity, and I think that's a spirit of the play.” ...

The artist erected this art-installation originally in fall 1988 in the city of Cologne in Germany, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the pogrom-night of November 9, 1938. The Installation was placed between the Cologne Cathedral and the Ludwig Museum, alongside the railroad track of the central station. It was entirely financed by the artist.
A hundred meter long wall of pictures with large images of children's faces, in a seemingly endless row, as if made to line up to be "selected". With the faces of christian, jewish and handicapped children, that lived in Germany in 1988.
In the second night after the opening, unknown people cut all the throats of the children on the pictures.
For the first time this memorial is now presented in Israel and for that occasion the artist included faces of children living in Israel in 2010. ...

SELEKTION-NINTH NOVEMBER NIGHT
מיצב של האמן גוטפריד הלנוויין, לזכר "ליל הבדולח", 1938, אשר מוצב בפעם הראשונה בישראל. המיצב הוקם לראשונה בסתיו 1988, לרגל ציון 50 שנה לפוגרום ליל הבדולח, שנערך ב-9 בנובמבר 1938, והוצב בין הקתדרלה של קלן ומוזיאון לודוויג, לצד מסילת הברזל של תחנת הרכבת של קלן. אורכו של המיצב היה 100 מטר, והוא הורכב מתמונות גדולות של פני ילדים, כשורה בלתי נגמרת, והם כמו עומדים בשורת סלקציה. במיצב המקורי צולמו פניהם של ילדים נוצרים,יהודים ונכים, שחיו בגרמניה בשנת 1988. בלילה השני אחרי פתיחת המיצב לקהל, אנונימים חתכו ...

One of the most important productions of the Israeli Opera's 25th anniversary season is the world premiere of the opera The Child Dreams, based on the most poetic and lyric play by the late Hanoch Levin, undoubtedly, one of Israel's greatest playwrights.
With his stage design, costumes, make-up and videos, Gottfried Helnwein created a breathtaking and revolutionary new visual realization for that play. Together with director Omri Nitzan he developed a new conception for the adaption as an opera . Composed is the opera by Israeli composer Gil Shohat, and David Stern, the Israeli Opera's music director, is conducting this new opera featuring closed to 20 Israeli opera singers on the stage.
Helnwein also included dancer and choreographer Gregor Seyffert who is in charge of the choreography. ...

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"In a very poetic way [Hanoch Levin] describes the world we live in," says Helnwein, "with the child as metaphor for innocence, purity, confronted with the corrupt adult world. The adult characters, even the mother and father, are all archetypes; the child doesn't understand this world. With complete trust, he thinks that the bond between himself and his mother is unbreakable, but, of course, it's broken…
A huge picture-wall of a sleeping child, through which the soldiers break, is the first of four amazing sets, culminating in a "universe of dead children in an infinity of space." ...

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Friedman Benda is pleased to announce its representation of the Austrian born artist Gottfried Helnwein. The artist’s first New York solo exhibition opens September 17th featuring a singular painting and two documentary films, an installation that calls to mind live performance. A second exhibition presenting a new body of work, currently in progress, will open at Friedman Benda in May 2010. ...

Auf rund 3.000 m2 Ausstellungsfläche spannt die Präsentation einen reichen Bogen vom französischen Impressionismus bis zur Kunst der Gegenwart. Mit wichtigen Werken des späten Picasso, Exponaten von Mark Rothko oder Francis Bacon führt die Ausstellung bis zur Kunst der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts und findet ihren Abschluss mit Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer und Gottfried Helnwein. Die rund 200 Exponate stammen aus der über 30.000 Arbeiten umfassenden Sammlung an Gegenwartskunst der Albertina und der Sammlung Batliner. ...

Eindrucksvolle Bilder aus seinem Buch "Faces" sind von Helnwein zu sehen: Er streicht hier "virile Fantasien" aus der Perspektive des Modells hevor: So inszeniert er in drei Fotos Keith Richards im Prozess des Zigaretten-Anzündens, daneben blickt Michael Jackson traurig und unzugänglich in die Kamera. Effektvolle Betrachtungsweisen ergeben sich durch die Hängung, die einerseits H.C. Artmann und Clint Eastwood einander gegenüberstellt oder der krasse Widerspruch zwischen einem fröhlichen Elton John und dem von seiner Nazi-Verstrickung gezeichneten Bildhauer und Architekten Arno Breker. ...

Gottfried Helnwein, Chuck Close, Marie Jo Lafontaine, Jannis Kounnellis, Helmuth Newton, Erwin Wurm, John Coplans, Elke Krystufek. Die Ausstellung "Body and Language" präsentiert diese unterschiedlichen künstlerischen Positionen mit ca. 80 Fotoarbeiten aus den Beständen der Albertina. ...