Gottfried Mairwöger Untitled 2000-2003

Gottfried Mairwöger is considered one of the most significant representatives of Austrian color field painting, alongside Wolfgang Hollegha. He achieved international success at a young age when he participated in a group exhibition of Austrian artists at the Wentzel Gallery in Hamburg in 1976. This exhibition caught the attention of the American art critic Clement Greenberg, who subsequently invited Mairwöger to the USA. There, he got acquainted with the works of acclaimed color field painters, such as Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Helen Frankenthaler, who became important role models.
In the 1990s, trips to Madagascar and La Reunion brought new impressions to the artist. The intense tropical light, lush vegetation, the vibrant saffron-coloured Buddhist monk robes and the colors of the Indian Ocean inspired the painter deeply.
In this painting from the artist’s late period, various shades of blue dominate, ranging from deep blue to violet. Heavily diluted oil paint soaks the unprimed canvas and overlapping colors bring out shadowy contours. Thus, the resulting color fields appear both defined and blurred, controlled and arbitrary, adding a unique charm to this artwork.
Mairwöger’s paintings can be found in several Austrian museums and private collections as well as in collections worldwide, for example at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts or in the Estée Lauder Collection, USA.