Otto Muehl

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Press Release
October 2003

During October - December T1+2 Artspace will present Electric Painting Films by Otto Muehl. Muehl (b. 1925) is a legendary figure in post-war European art, a key member of the controversial Viennese Actionists whose transgressive works of the 1960s raised far-ranging questions about the roles and responsibilities of the artist within consumer society. Known for his collaborations with figures such as Hermann Nitsch and Gunter Brus, Muehl is also the author of a large body of paintings, prints, films and texts. Collectively, the diverse aspects of Muehl's practice tend towards the Gesamtkunstwerk or "total work of art".

In his Electric Painting Films Muehl has combined conventional film-making techniques with drawing and painting executed on the computer, producing a sophisticated yet "primitive" combination of formal means, a vibrant amalgamation of traditional and contemporary media.

For the present exhibition T1+2 Artspace will screen four recent Electric Painting Films: Can Anyone Explain?, Noirorange, Baghdad Tales and Electric Enlightenment, none of which have previously been seen in the UK. These will be shown alongside a selection of the artist's recent prints. The opening event on 24 October, at which the artist will be present to discuss aspects of his work, is being recorded by BBC Television.

Otto Muehl recently held a solo exhibition at Galerie Seine, Paris (May 2003) and contributed to the Biennale de Lyon in September 2003. A major retrospective, Otto Muehl: Das Lieben ein Kunstwerk will open at MAK, Vienna, in December 2003.

See also Time Out Review

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