Helnwein in the Rudolfinum Gallery The exhibition entitled “Angels Sleeping” introduces works by the Austrian artist, Gottfried Helnwein (1948), whose oeuvre has become a phenomenon of hyperrealist painting. His canvases, executed in the manner of photographic preciseness, draw from pop-culture as well as history, and the artist’s great subject is the position of a child in an extreme situation. The exhibition is divided to five sections which present the main subjects of Helnwein’s work, at the same time laying emphasis on his paintings from the most recent years. The first section displays portraits of the artist’s bandaged face; the second section contains references to the Nazi past of Austria, while the central subject of the third and fourth sections is child. The last section presents photographs inspired by pop-culture. The group of exhibited works was loaned from the property of the artist as well as from many public and private collections from Europe and the United States. Gottfried Helnwein – “Angels Sleeping” Rudolfinum Gallery, Prague 11 June – 31 August 2008 Gottfried Helnwein – Heydrich Contemplating Golem’s Daughter, 2008. Mixed media (oil and acrylic paint on canvas), 203 x 168.7 cm. Collection of the author, Ireland.
