He is considered to be the co-founder of informal art in Austria and is one of the most influential artists of the present day: Arnulf Rainer celebrates his 90th birthday in December. To mark the occasion, the Albertina is dedicating a comprehensive tribute to the artist.

His intensive search for new approaches to painting and new artistic strategies have made Arnulf Rainer one of the most influential living artists of the present day. In particular, his overpaintings made the artist, who was born in 1929 in Baden near Vienna, famous around the world. Rainer overpainted his own and other artists' paintings, self-portraits and photos with charcoal and ballpoint pen.

At the beginning of the 1960s, he was even handed down a court sentence for the public overpainting of an award-winning picture. Due to his radical concealment of often religious symbols, Rainer remained controversial for years. In December, the artist celebrates his 90th birthday. The Albertina is joining in the celebrations by honoring Rainer with a tribute made up of the many objects in its own collection.

The exhibition includes important works from Rainer's early period, his photographic works and overpaintings, the crosses and veiled paintings of the 1980s and 1990s, through to his most recent works of the present day. It's a show that once again underscores the huge significance of Arnulf Rainer for art history around the world after 1945.

Arnulf Rainer - A Tribute, September 27, 2019 – January 19, 2020
www.albertina.at