  gottfried helnwein (born 8 october 1948) is an austrian born austrian-irish fine artist, painter, photographer, installation and performance artist. helnwein studied at the university of visual art in vienna (akademie der bildenden kÃ¼nste, wien). he was awarded the master-class prize () of the university of visual art, vienna, the kardinal-kÃ¶nig prize and the theodor-kÃ¶rner prize. he has worked as a painter, draftsman, photographer, muralist, sculptor, installation and performance artist, using a wide variety of techniques and media. his early work consists mainly of hyper-realistic watercolors, depicting wounded and mistreated children, as well as performances â often with children â in public spaces. the human condition as his subject matter has emerged and stayed consistent throughout his career. the metaphor for his art, although it included self-portraits, is dominated by the image of the wounded child, scarred physically and emotionally .robert flynn johnson, curator in charge, robert flynn johnson, curator in charge,"the child â works by gottfried helnwein", california palace of the legion of honor, fine arts museums of san francisco, isbn 978-0-88401-112-5, 2004 helnwein is concerned primarily with psychological and sociological anxiety, historical issues and political topics. as a result of this, his work is often considered provocative and controversial. viennese-born helnwein is part of a tradition going back to the 18th century, to which messerschmidt's grimacing sculptures belong. also, there is a common ground of his works with those of hermann nitsch and rudolf schwarzkogler, two other viennese, who display their own bodies in the frame of reference of injury, pain, and death.roland recht, '', gottfried helnwein, one-man show, musÃ©e d'art moderne, strasbourg, 1987 helnwein lives and works in ireland and los angeles. ==work== ===the child=== [[file:helnwein state russian museum.jpg|thumbnail|right|300px|state russian museum st. petersburg, helnwein's "head of a child" (, 1991, oil and acrylic on canvas, 600 x 400&nbsp;cm), being installed in the retrospective of gottfr
1948_births 20th-century_Austrian_painters 20th-century_Irish_painters 21st-century_Austrian_painters 21st-century_Irish_painters Academy_of_Fine_Arts_Vienna_alumni Artists_from_Vienna Austrian_emigrants_to_Ireland Austrian_photographers Conceptual_artists Contemporary_artists Irish_installation_artists Irish_multimedia_artists Living_people Modern_painters Naturalised_citizens_of_Ireland Obscenity_controversies People_from_County_Tipperary Photorealist_artists Theodor_KAPrner_Prize_recipients