Vice Chancellor and Minister of Arts Werner Kogler (Greens) via X (formerly Twitter): “In his long, deep search, Günter Brus helped shape world art and helped change our country at a time when change was urgently needed. A great spirit and person – he will be missed. My condolences go out to his family.”
Art and Culture State Secretary Andrea Mayer: “Günter Brus is one of the exceptional artistic phenomena of the 20th century. He broke the mold, both of society and of artistic representation, and thereby changed the history of art forever. With unwavering steadfastness and perseverance, he inspired us with his visionary His work irritates, stirs up and enriches. We will always remember him and know that his art has been continued in the work of current performance artists.”
Image: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH
Elke Kahr, Mayor of Graz (KPÖ): “Günter Brus was known and important far beyond the borders of Austria. With his art he not only left a lasting mark, he also gave important impetus for social changes. My condolences go out to his family and everyone who is closely connected to his work .”
Image: Volker Weihbold
Klaus Albrecht Schröder, General Director of the Albertina: “Günter Brus is without a doubt one of the most important, influential and complex Austrian artists of the 20th century: from his early actionist paintings to the radical actions that he carried out on himself to the wonderfully poetic picture narratives with which he made his way into history of all the greatest draftsmen.
With Günter Brus, the last Austrian pioneer of the avant-garde movement that radically expanded painting from the canvas into space and onto one’s own body dies: his influence on international art cannot be overestimated.
The death of Günter Brus leaves a painful emptiness in this country, which persecuted him for many years before recognizing and honoring him as one of the greats of art.
Günter Brus’ work is one of the most important pillars in our museum’s collections. The Albertina owns over 400 works by this great Austrian artist, including his most beautiful cycles and important multi-part picture narratives. His groundbreaking actionist paintings from the early 1960s will be exhibited at the Albertina Klosterneuburg – Essl Museum from the beginning of April.”
Image: Ingo Pertramer
Belvedere-Director General Stella Rollig: We are losing an art rebel who never stopped developing and constantly reinventing his artistic means. It was an honor and a pleasure to work with Brus on the occasion of his retrospective and to experience him as a brilliant artist, intellectual and caring person. We mourn the loss of one of the greats of Austrian art and a friend of the Belvedere.
Michael Ludwig, Mayor of Vienna: “With Günter Brus we are losing one of the most important Austrian artists of the moment. He subsequently influenced and changed the art world with his radical body art. As one of the most important representatives of Viennese Actionism, he always dealt with current social regulations and constraints in his works, which he sharply criticized. My deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones.”
Image: ERWIN SCHERIAU (APA)
Veronica Kaup-Hasler, Vienna City Councilor for Culture: “Günther Brus was one of the most formative and radical artists of the 20th century. Although his oeuvre went beyond that, the name Günter Brus, as one of the main protagonists, will forever be inseparably linked to ‘Viennese Actionism’. With excessive performances in which he often pushed his own physical and psychological limits, he knew how to scandalize the concept of art anew in a time of great social change and play a lasting role in shaping contemporary Austrian art following 1945. His visionary work awakened, irritated, broke taboos and thus shaped a whole Era of Austrian and international art. My condolences go out to his family, his friends and all the people connected to him.”
- HONEY: Günter Brus is dead
Marko Mele and Josef Schrammel, managing directors of the Universalmuseum Joanneum: “It is with great sadness that we received the news of the death of Günter Brus. One of the greatest Styrian artists shaped an era of Austrian and international art through his actions and his graphic work. His works inspire and delight visitors to the Bruseum in the Neue Galerie in Graz since its opening and we will ensure that his work is never forgotten. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.”
Roman Grabner, director of the Bruseum in Graz: “Günter Brus was one of the outstanding artistic personalities of the 20th century, who pushed the limits with his art and literally put his body to the test. He lived unconditionally for art and never shied away from the consequences of his radicalism. He stood for art history created something lasting. Günter Brus was not only a rigorous actionist, obsessive illustrator and language-expanding poet, but also a bright spirit and political person to the end who will be sorely missed.”
Philipp Konzett, gallery owner, co-initiator and managing director of the Vienna Actionism Museum (WAM): “Günter Brus was the only one of the four actionists who carried out his actions on himself. He went to his personal limits in order to show psychopathological dimensions. The action ‘Self-painting’ by Günter Brus is the subject of the opening exhibition ‘What is Viennese Actionism?’ In this exhibition and in our museum, Günter Brus and his work will not only live on – it will be honored and discussed. The WAM will show what important contribution Viennese Actionism, including Günter Brus, made to the concept of art following 1945.”
Thomas D. Trummer, director of the Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB): “The Kunsthaus Bregenz team mourns the loss of an extraordinary artist. Brus is one of the most important positions of the post-war period, his departure is an incomparable loss for the art history of Austria. Brus was a draftsman, performance artist, poet, intellectual – and visionary. His works bear witness to one profound examination of the themes of humanity and existence.”
