Exhibition. Arnulf Rainer & Art Brut

What's it about?

Arnulf Rainer is one of the most important contemporary artists. One of his most important sources of inspiration was Art Brut, which he became aware of in the post-war period through his engagement with Surrealism. In addition to Surrealism, the discovery of the Gugging artists fueled Rainer's interest in Art Brut. Through the publication Schizophrenie und Kunst (1965) by Leo Navratil, the founder of the Gugging Center for Art and Psychiatry, Rainer came into contact with the artists there. This encounter developed into a long-standing engagement – both in Rainer's collecting activities and in his artistic work. In the 1970s, he created his well-known Art Brut homages, in which he overpainted pictures by artists such as Johann Hauser, Jean Dubuffet, or Friedrich Schröder-Sonnenstern – not to change them, but to enter into an artistic dialogue. A direct collaboration with other artists took place in 1984 in three drawings – two with Fritz Koller, one with Johann Hauser. In 1994, an extensive project of 58 overpaintings followed, together with eight Gugging artists. The exhibition shows works by Arnulf Rainer, Johann Garber, Johann Hauser, Margarethe Held, Rudolf Horacek, Fritz Koller, Hans Krüsi, Rudolf Liemberger, Michel Nedjar, Philipp Schöpke, Friedrich Schröder-Sonnenstern, Volkmar Schulz Rumpold, Sava Sekulić, Oswald Tschirtner, August Walla, and Adolf Wölfli, as well as the collaborative works by Rainer with Koller and Hauser. Duration: 18.10.2025 – 04.10.2026 Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Special opening hours around holidays - see: www.arnulf-rainer-museum.at