Curriculum Vitae
1951 Born on February 4th in Tragwein, Upper Austria, a small village twenty miles north of Linz, where he also grows up. Father is a mailman, mother is a loving housewife. First years of school in Tragwein and the neighbouring village Zell.
1966 Parents decide to enrole the 14 year old at a school for higher education in Linz. At this time reads books about painters and paintings (Van Gogh, Gauguin), and begins to paint. During the summer vacations hitch-hikes extensively throughout Europe- at 15 to Switzerland, the year after to England and Scotland, one year later France, Belgium and the Netherlands and at eighteen to Sweden. Main reason of travels is to visit museums and galleries.
1970 Graduates in June and in the fall begins nine months of military service. While off-duty, he paints the countryside surrounding the army barracks around Krems in the Wachau region of Austria.
1971 Travels to Vienna in September with portfolio of drawings and watercolors which he shows at the Academy of Fine Arts. Is accepted into the class of Josef Mikl.
1972 Participates in a competition held by the Federal State of Upper Austria and is awarded first prize.
1973 Painting class of Josef Mikl is taken over by Wolfgang Hollegha.
1974 Wins the competition for new glass windows of the Enns church. Joins the painters of Ulysses Gallery. During the winter lives for several months in Orvieto, Italy. Large scale oil on canvas paintings and numerous oil on paper works are the result. Participates in the exhibition „Upper Austrian Avantgarde“ at the Wolfgang Gurlitt Museum in Linz (nowadays: Lentos Museum). The New Gallery Linz acquires a big oil. In May / June is invited to have his first solo exhibition at the Hypo Gallery in Linz.
1975 First solo exhibition at the Ulysses Gallery, Vienna, Austria.
1976 Participates in group exhibition with the Austrian artists Hollegha, Mikl, Prachensky and Rainer at the Wentzel Gallery, Hamburg, Germany. During winter and spring lives in Lucca, Italy. Several paintings of his shown at the Art 7'76 fair in Basel, Switzerland, and at the Washington Art Fair 76 in the USA. In autumn, he works in the Austrian region of Styria. In November, second solo exhibition at the Ulysses Gallery, Vienna, Austria.
1977 In February, solo exhibition at the Wentzel Gallery, Hamburg, Germany. In December, solo exhibition at the Galerie de France, Paris. The Musée d' Art Moderne, Dunkerque, Belgium, acquires a painting.
In Germany he meets the American art critic and essayist Clement Greenberg, who sympathizes with his art, and introduces him to the American art scene. This results in friendships with several artists, e.g. Larry Poons, Kikou Saito and Michael Steiner, and exhibitions in New York and Chicago.
1978 Solo exhibition at the Gallery In The Vienna Opera. The „Albertina“ museum in Vienna acquires a painting.
1979 Solo exhibition at the Grüner Gallery, Linz, Austria.
1980 Participates in the group exhibition „The New Generation: A Curator's Choice“ (curated by Kenworth Moffett) at the André Emmerich Gallery, New York. This exhibition was also shown (1981) at the American Center, Paris, the Amerika- Haus, Berlin, and in Lisbon and Porto/ Portugal. Participates in the group exhibition „Malerei 80“ at the Annasäule Gallery, Innsbruck, Austria. Solo exhibition at the Ulysses Gallery, Vienna, Austria.
1981 Several months stay in the USA, in the state of Maine. Approximately 30 paintings are created there. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts acquires a big oil. Participation in the group exhibition at the Alte Oper Frankfurt („Phoenix“) and the Wentzel Gallery, Cologne.
1982 Gottfried Mairwöger is awarded the Monsignore- Otto- Mauer Prize for painters, one of the most important prizes for modern art in Austria. This award marked the peak of his career. Several stays in the USA, solo exhibition at the Eva Cohon Gallery Chicago. In summer, marriage to his wife Christa.
1983 Spends the winter at Murau Castle in Styria, Austria. He paints a fresco in the castle's chapel and numerous big oil on canvas paintings.
1985 Mairwöger begins to change his flow to a more pastose style. This results in problems with the Ulysses Gallery, who do not support his new style. This also marks the beginning of a financial and personal crisis. Birth of his son Benedikt.
1986 Mairwöger produces a series of ceramics. Last solo exhibition at the Ulysses Gallery, Vienna, Austria.
1987 Work stay in the USA; exhibitions in Chicago and Salzburg.
1988 Work stay in Mallorca, Spain. Mairwöger creates large paper collages there, working together with his friend Peter Marquant.
1989 Solo exhibition at the Contact Gallery, Vienna. Divorce from his wife Christa.
1990 Mairwöger gets married to his second wife Julia Avramidis. Solo exhibition in Bern / Switzerland.
1992 Work stay during the summer at Hollenburg Castle near Krems / Lower Austria. Big solo exhibition „Retrospective 1972-82“
1994 Work stay at Reichenstein Castle in Upper Austria. He portrays the nature in the wild forests of the Aist valley. A series of lithographies is printed at the Oberbuch workshop in Upper Austria.
1995 He begins to change his work back to a more glazing and less pastose flow. The new style is appreciated by the art scene and promotes sales a lot. The financial crisis ceases. Work stays at Hollenburg Castle and on Mallorca.
1998 First work stay on Mauritius island. He spends all of winter there.
1999 Another work stay on Mauritius island. The „Cobalt Yellow“ painting series is created there.
2001 Work stay in Sri Lanka. The local colours of landscape and nature are very influential to his work. First studies of combining nude painting with Colorfield painting.
2002 Last solo exhibition of his life at the Maendl- Lawrance Gallery in Munich, Germany
2003 Mairwöger plans a work stay in Tahiti „in the footsteps of Gauguin“ before he passes away on October 19th from lung cancer, being only 52 years old.