1945
takes part in the Ardennes offensive, escapes from Soviet captivity. |  |
1952
teacher´s degree in German and History (University of Vienna), probational year in a school in Vienna. |  |
1953
studies at the Academy of Fine arts, Vienna, attends Heimo Kuchling´s lectures on morphology. |
1954
1954 until 1963: art therapist in a home for emotionally disturbed children run by the psychoanalyst Eva Rosenfeld, a pupil of Sigmund Freud. |  |
1960
meets Günter Brus and Alfons Schilling. |
1961 – 1970
VIENNESE ACTIONISM.
the "big bang" of actionism: destruction of the picture – junk sculpture – material actions. |  |
1961
meets Hermann Nitsch, they decide to perform the immurement action in the Perinet cellar. |
1962
three day immurement action with Nitsch and Frohner, "Blutorgel". |
1963
"Fest des psycho–physischen Naturalismus", program: throwing a kitchen dresser filled with marmelade and flour out of the window. 14 days arrest. |  |
1964
marries Friedel Neiss. |
1966
Gustav Metzger invites him to participate in the Destruction in Arts Symposium (DIAS) in London. |
1967
founds ZOCK with Oswald Wiener. |
1968
"Kunst und Revolution". Action at the University of Vienna. Günter Brus, Otto Muehl and Oswald Wiener sentenced to 2 months prison. |
1970
participates in the "Happening und Fluxus" exhibition curated by Harald Szeemann in Cologne. Performs radical actions. Publishes "ZOCK: Aspekte einer Totalrevolution". |
1973
participates in Dokumenta V organized by Harald Szeemann. |
1970 – 1990
COMMUNE EXPERIMENT FRIEDRICHSHOF. |  | | foto: philippe dutartre |
|
1970
founds the Praterstrasse Commune in Vienna, based on the principles of free sexuality, common property, collective education of the children. Later known as the AAO (Actions Analytical Organization), the commune moves to Friedrichshof in 1973. The artistic action is transformed into self–expression. "The painting thrown out of the window" is transformed into action concepts. Production of action painting films. | |
1987
now numbering 700 members, the commune is economically highly successful – which leads to conflict and rifts. Purchase of a bay on Gomera, in the Canary Islands. |
1988
marries claudia weissensteiner. |
1991
after 21 years of existence the Friedrichshof Commune breaks up. Otto Muehl is sentenced to seven years prison by the Burgenland Provincial Court for "criminal acts against morality" and offences against the illegal drugs act. He rejects the verdict. |
1991
1991 until 1997 in prison: produces numerous drawings and paintings. |
1997
after 6 1/2 years he is released suffering from morbus Parkinson and half–blind in one eye. Since then he lives in the Art–Life Family in the Algarve in Southern Portugal together with seven artist families. |  |
1998
Burgtheater Vienna; Claus Peymann invites him to read from "letters from prison" and to perform his dramulett "Muchl".
MAK Museum of Applied Arts Vienna; "7", a retrospective of the prison works.
"Wiener Sezession 1898 – 1998 the century of artistic freedom"; Muehl´s work "Keinen Keks Heute" vandalized with paint, a court order prohibits further display of the work in Austria. |  |
2000
Le Louvre, Paris; participates in "La peinture comme crime", curated by Régis Michel. |
2001
founding of the "Art & Life Sahara Baby Jazz Band." Develops the theme of the shark in his paintings. Actionist "grimuid" representations. |  |
2002 – 2005
despite increasing health problems with parkinson, he develops electric painting films, digital photos of actions painted on computer and edited into films. The themes are his day–to–day life and the life in the group.
Also working on exzess–art objects; paint is applied on the canvas direct from the tube and attains the luminosity of computer painting. |
2004
MAK Vienna Museum of Applied Arts; Retrospective "Otto Muehl Leben/Kunst/Werk Aktion Utopie Malerei 1960–2004".
National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo and Kyoto "TRACES – Body and Idea in Contemporary Art". |
2005
Kulturstiftung Phoenix Art, Sammlung Falckenberg, Hamburg
16.06.2005 the exhibition "Otto Muehl Jenseits von Zucht und Ordnung" opens on otto muehl’s 80th birthday.
the michele maccarone art gallery in new york becomes the gallery of otto muehl. |
2006
"landscape in your mind"
paintings
austrian cultural forum new york
"body face and soul"
the female image from the 16th to the 21st century
leopold museum vienna österreich
"eye on europe"
prints, books & multiples / 1960 to now
MoMA the museum of modern art new york |
2007
"konzept. aktion. sprache."
fokus 03: wiener gruppe, wiener aktionismus, fluxus und konzeptkunst aus der sammlung
mumok — museum moderner kunst stiftung ludwig vienna |
2008
"accionismo vienés"
brus · muehl · nitsch · schwarzkogler
obras de la collección hummel
centro andaluz de arte contemporáneo
sevilla spain |
2009
"mapping the studio"
artists from the françois pinault collection
paintings
punta della dogana — palazzo grassi
venice italy |
2010
june 16 otto muehl’s 85th birthday
film premiere:
"becoming otto"
vincent juillerat
presentation:
"apokalypse / keinen keks heute"
acrylic on canvas with a collage by otto muehl, 1998/2010
mak museum für angewandte kunst wien
"otto muehl" from the collection leopold
paintings
leopold museum vienna |
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