July 16th, 2008
The Munster Express
Gottfried Helnwein in Waterford
“The world is a haunted house and Helnwein at times is our guide through it”, Sean Penn
Described as controversial, provocative and undoubtedly larger than life, the works of Austrian born, Waterford-based artist Gottfried Helnwein, is acclaimed world wide.

Born and educated in Vienna, Helnwein now resides with his wife and children at a Castle in Co. Waterford.The work of Helnwein has been exhibited worldwide and in such prestigious settings as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the State Russian Museum, the Ludwig Museum in Cologne and even in the homes of Sean Penn and Nicholas Cage.

“Warhol has been described as the Pre-Helnwein. Gottfried Helnwein’s work has a stark and deep quality that cannot be ignored. He was an obvious choice to exhibit at the Waterford Fringe Festival as firstly he is seen as a local and secondly, by exhibiting his work here, it puts Waterford on a platform with the great art capitals of the world such as New York, Munich and Beijing.

Waterford Fringe Festival will present a spectacular outdoor exhibition of Helnweins work in Sept of this year. The exhibition involves a series of his paintings screen printed to very large images and displayed on prominent Waterford city centre premises.

© The Munster Express Ltd. 2008