Herwig Zens
Exhibition from 14.01.2023 — 01.03.2023
On the occasion of Herwig Zens’ 80th birthday, the gallery is dedicating an exhibition to the artist featuring canvas works including landscapes and cityscapes, biblical scenes, Greek mythological figures, portraits, nudes and works from his Dance of Death cycles. Herwig Zens, born in Vienna in 1943, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1961 to 1967. In his work he dealt intensively with death, among other things in the large-scale projects “Basler Totentanz”, the Stations of the Cross in the Austrian Hospice in Austria and the design of the Aufbahrungshalle in Brunn im Gebirge. Again and again he took up themes of Greek mythology and devoted himself to the work of Francisco de Goya and Spain. Starting in 1977, Zen’s notes began to be recorded in his “erased diary.” On copper plates (5×40 cm) he recorded daily in different etching techniques what moved him. In 1995, the diary was printed in one piece for the first time. In 1987 Herwig Zens was appointed professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he had already been teaching since 1975. In addition to his activities at the academy, he worked intensively on his artistic work. Painting, along with etching and drawing, is his main form of artistic expression. The artist’s painting style changed significantly during his creative period. In recent years, painting drawing has come to the fore and his painting has become increasingly lighter and lighter. Zens left behind a large oeuvre of drawings, etchings, oil paintings, and prints. In 2011 he was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art. Herwig Zens lived and worked in Vienna, where he dies on September 24, 2019.
In the current exhibition will be shown canvas works from 1996.
In the current exhibition will be shown canvas works from 1996.