Zens Herwig – Untitled 2

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 exhibiting activity began in 1966. Since then, the author has had exhibitions presenting his distinctive work worldwide (Los Angeles, New York, London, Tokyo, Madrid, Berlin, Paris). He is the author of the extensive “Goya Project” at the Museum of Modern Art in Bilbao. He is the recipient of numerous awards granted to him by Vienna and Austria for his cultural contributions. 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 interprets through a dissertation on his work. In 1977, he began recording events of his life on copper plates. This “Graphic Diary,” now more than 55 meters long, addresses banal themes in a humorous and expressive manner. The diary is a kind of attempt to triumph over death, and Zens worked on it until his death. For Zens, painting is the meaning of existence; he paints to live.