"I don't spend money on coke or whores." deadpans Kevin Smith. "And I am not a big car guy with a fleet of Ferraris or anything like that. But I can get behind an indulgence like this."
The indulgence in question is towering a nine-foot-tall canvas of Smith's daughter, Harley, which hangs in the entry of his Hollywood home.
Smith commissioned the portrait two years ago from Austrian Artist Gottfried Helnwein, who is best known for his dark, noir-style paintings.
Smith admittedly wept when he finally received the work, which has since become his pride and joy - a family heirloom that is a testament to his love for his child as well as being a serious work of art. ...

A highly satisfying survey of his work at the Legion of Honor museum titled "The Child" was dominated by images of children, as was a current exhibition of his more recent work at Modernism. ...

Austrian artist Gottfriend Helnwein's large mixed media portrait of a little girl faces the gallery's entrance. The press release states, "[Helnwein's] images intend to evoke associations with mutilation, anguish or internal alienation ... his paintings blatantly put forward images that border the line of social unacceptability and comment on the results of post Second World War society." ...

In 1980, Modernism became the first gallery on the West Coast to show Russian avant-garde art, and is one of only two galleries in the nation that continue to exhibit such works today.
Muller, through gallery shows, has helped build the careers of American realist painter John Register, sociopolitical conceptual artist Gottfried Helnwein, social portraitist Robert Crumb and narrative painter Mark Stock, to name a few.
Muller has also helped with exhibitions at Bay Area museums such as Helnwein's challenging show, "The Child," the Palace of the Legion of Honor last August. ...

MADRID, SPAIN.
- This is the biggest ever exhibition devoted to the life of the ultimate screen icon, Marilyn Monroe - Life of a Legend. Showcasing more than 250 works from over 70 famous artists and renowned photographers. As a tribute to her lasting popularity this extraordinary exhibition charts every stage of the bittersweet story of Monroe's life and career. Works on display include well-known pieces by renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Allan Jones, Peter Blake, Richard Avedon, Gottfried Helnwein and Henri Cartier-Bresson, as well as previously unseen works by Conny Holthusen, Antonio de Felipe, José de Guimares and Ernesto Tatafiore. ...

...On the other hand, two large faces - Gottfried Helnwein's Head of a Child and Richard Phillips' Brandbild (Sunburn) - hold our gaze, as they gaze at us, though I'm not sure just what they say about that state between whatever and whatever, be it heaven and hell, action and inaction, or plain old fretful stasis. ...

TEMPE, ARIZONA.- The Arizona State University Art Museum will present The Other Mainstream: Selections from the Collection of Mikki and Stanley Weithorn, January 22 - April 23, 2005. A dynamic selection of works from the collection of Mikki and Stanley Weithorn, "The Other Mainstream" shows their ongoing commitment to social and political issues and artists of color. ...

Beginning November 3 the gallery showcases recent paintings by Gottfried Helnwein. A Swiss-born artist whose work spans a broad spectrum of media, Helnwein was strongly influenced by the dark, devastated world he perceived as a child in post–World War II Europe. His imagery is haunting and his draftsmanship impeccable, inviting a closer look in spite of often chilling subject matter. Helwein’s paintings will remain on view through December 23. ...