The painter of the elements

The simple title Franz Grabmayr says it all: a painter who devoted himself to the elemental in a unique way. The nature-loving Austrian Franz Grabmayr (1927-2015) lived in seclusion in the Waldviertel region, where he explored nature artistically. From close up, his paintings look like abstract compositions; viewed from a distance, they are reminiscent of landscape paintings. Grabmayr's motifs are water, fire, earth and the sky (air) – for centuries, people considered these to be the elements that make up everything earthly, including man himself. »Colour, dynamics, the power of the living – these are the means of my pictorial design«, Grabmayr explained his position, which is characterized by the impasto application of paint: his paintings often weigh up to 60 kg. The ALBERTINA Museum in Vienna is now dedicating a large solo exhibition to the painter, which will also include prints by the artist. Franz Grabmayr runs from May 17 to October 13.

Grabmayr initially worked as a secondary school teacher before turning his full attention to painting in the early 1960s. His »Mobile Workshop« was a particular focus: he painted on a trailer driven by a tractor around a motif, such as a large fire. Grabmayr wanted to capture the power and indomitable nature of fire in a way that would not have been possible in a quiet studio with a fine brush. The last decade of Grabmayr's life was marked by illness and operations. Three years before his death, he created his final works of art with the dance sheets.