HELMUT PREISS 1941-2009 FROM LYRICAL NATURALISM TO ABSTRACT CUBISM AND BEYOND. Helmut Preiss was born in 1941 in Vienna, Austria and attended the Academy of Art, Vienna at the age of 16. There he studied the painting and drawing techniques of the old masters. As you look at his work you will see the influence of his fine classical training, as well as the metamorphosis to his own revolutionary and very personal style. , There he studied the school and oil techniques of the “old masters” such as Franz Hals, Roger Van Der Weyden, Hironimus Bosch and Duerer as well as the techniques of the impressionists and fauvists, such as Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Matisse. He also studied the drawing techniques of masters Rubens, Toulouse Lautrec, Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. , In 1960 to 1962 Helmut Preiss made his first etching on lithograps on stone. More lithographs followed in the later years. , In 1964 he started his own advertising agency with his brother. As art director he created many trademarks, designs, and illustrations for advertisers., In 1966 to 1975 he spent his time illustrating over sixty childrens books for the publishing houses of Ueberreuter, Bertalsman, and Donauland. These illustrations included in books like Treasure Island, Moby Dick, Fairy Tales and many others. In 1979 Helmut Preiss began production on his LP “Light be Praised,” the rocking painter. The album was recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich, by Academy Award winning composer Gioggio Morodar., In 1980, the album was completed and released. Television and Multimedia shows followed. , His style of painting at the time was what he considered "Lyrical Naturalism" deemed "Neo Surrealism," by the critics. His influences were Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Picasso, and Giorgio Di Chirico. , In 1973 Helmut Preiss held his first major exhibition in a one man show in The Museum of Art in Munich, Germany. Many one man shows followed in Austria, Germany, Monte Carlo, Lichtenstein, Italy, Switzerland, France and the United States. During this period of his art, Helmut Preiss sold over 400 oil paintings and thousands of mixed media works and drawings, worldwide to private collectors and institutions. , In 1987 Helmut Preiss met and married his wife of 18 years and finally settled in the United States, in Los Angeles, Ca. In 1992 he came to Tampa Florida, where he lives today., In 1991 Helmut Preiss began a new transition in his art. Feeling trapped with naturalism, he felt the need to break free from the confines of traditional art. Age, weight, etc. would no longer set the boundaries of his limitless imagination. He needed more color, more form, more freedom of expression. This new realization gave him the possibility of working the finest details of abstract images and forms into his art and a new way of using his knowledge of naturalism. A fine example of this, is the painting "Three Figures," one in a series titled "MECHANICAL FIGURES." , This unique style has found many fans and is being sold to art enthusiasts and collectors in the United States and all over the world., Since 2000 Helmut Preiss art is promoted and published by THP Creations, LLC located in St. Petersburg, Florida. |