Zens Herwig – Saint Donatus I

He was born in 1943 in Himburg near Vienna. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in the class of Prof. Elsner. During his studies, he also attended O. Kokoschka’s school. He acquired education in graphic techniques as well. His exhibition activity began in 1966. Since then and until today, the author has held exhibitions presenting his distinctive work worldwide (Los Angeles, New York, London, Tokyo, Madrid, Berlin, Paris). He is the author of the large “Goya Project” at the Museum of Modern Art in Bilbao. He has received numerous awards granted by Vienna and Austria for his contributions to culture. The author has created thousands of graphics, drawings, oil paintings, and interpretations of the lives of F. Schubert and F. de Goya. He is professor emeritus at the Vienna Academy. His work is marked by two obsessions – death and Goya, whom he also explores through a dissertation on his work. In 1977, he began recording events of his life on copper plates. This “Graphic Diary,” now over 55 meters long, addresses banal themes in a humorous and expressive way. The diary is a kind of attempt to conquer death, and Zens continued working on it until his death. For Zens, painting is the meaning of existence; he paints to live.