Arnulf Rainer is an Austrian artist known for his use of appropriation and his process of layering paint over photographs, transforming existing artworks by layering them with thick, gestural marks. “The principles of my works—are the extinction of expression, permanent covering and contemplative tranquility,” the artist mused. “My ideal is the completely dark picture, full of some overwhelming silence.” Born on December 8, 1929 in Baden, Austria, the largely self-taught painter is associated with both Surrealism and the Art Informel movement. Along with Ernst Fuchs, Arik Brauer, Anton Lehmden and others, Rainer formed the Hundsgruppe, or Dog Pack, an artist collective which had its first and only exhibition in 1951. In 1959, together with Fuchs and Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Rainer would found the Pintorarium, an academy for all creative fields which lasted until 1969. In 2009, the Arnulf Rainer Museum opened in Frauenbad in Baden, while his works are also included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art in Budapest, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others. He currently lives and works in Vienna, Austria.
