580 - Arnulf Rainer (1929, Baden near Vienna – Vienna, 2025)

Arnulf Rainer (1929, Baden near Vienna – Vienna, 2025) “Glashaar” Colored oil pastels on paper. (19)68. Approx. 40 x 56.5 cm (frame approx. 51.5 x 67.5 cm). Signed, dated, and titled lower right. • An expressive work from 1968, created during Rainer’s experimental phase that straddled overpainting and gestural freedom • Luminous shades of yellow and powerful arcs of black create an almost explosive dynamic • A tension-filled interplay of expressive density, spontaneous interlacing lines, and painterly openness The year 1968 marks a particularly experimental phase in Arnulf Rainer’s artistic career. Following the predominantly dark, flat overpaintings of the 1950s, his visual language increasingly gained gestural freedom and expressive color. His intensive exploration of spontaneous forms of expression and psychological borderline experiences opened up new artistic possibilities for the Austrian avant-garde artist, without him abandoning the central principle of layering. This oil-chalk work illustrates this development in a striking way. Particularly characteristic is the interplay between concealment and revelation. The black overlays assert their dominant presence, yet increasingly allow space for the luminous colors and the underlying structures. In this way, Rainer combines the radical visual approach of his early overpaintings with a new, unbridled expressiveness. 1968 was also a significant year in his artistic career: the Museum of the 20th Century in Vienna dedicated its first major retrospective to him. This work was thus created during a phase of intense artistic renewal and growing recognition. It demonstrates how Rainer expanded the possibilities of overpainting and developed the expressive gestures that would have a lasting influence on his later work. Provenance: Galerie Van de Loo, Munich, label on the back of the frame; B. Koestler Kunsthandlung, Munich, label on the back of the frame; Private collection, Bavaria. Taxation: subject to margin scheme (VAT: Margin Scheme).