State Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner spoke of a very special occasion when she opened the anniversary exhibition “Nothing against Everything” in the Arnulf Rainer Museum Baden this Saturday on the occasion of the 95th birthday of the Baden artist Arnulf Rainer. The artist, who has been exhibited hundreds of times worldwide and won countless awards, is “one of the greatest artists of our time and one of the most influential personalities in our art world, which he has influenced with his works far beyond our national borders,” she said. His works are more relevant than ever, “because he deals with the themes of humanity such as birth and death, joy and pain, order and chaos. Rainer’s works speak a universal language, connecting cultures and generations.”
However, the anniversary exhibition would not be possible “without Arnulf Rainer’s friend, art collector and one of Europe’s greatest art patrons, Helmut Zambo,” emphasized Mikl-Leitner. The internationally renowned art collector built “one of the most important art collections of our time with incomparable flair.” Zambo, who left a large part of his works of art to the Lower Austrian state collections, left the country a valuable legacy: “With your donation of a total of 720 works of art, including 300 works by Arnulf Rainer, shortly before your 85th birthday, you have created a monument for yourself built that not only the state of Lower Austria accepts with great humility and gratitude, but that shows your deep personal connection to Arnulf Rainer.”
Zambo has built up his art collection for more than 60 years, never just out of private passion, but always with a clear obligation, said the state governor: “To preserve and preserve art, to promote artists and young talents and to make them accessible to a broad public .” In this sense, the state of Lower Austria will continue to handle Zambo’s collection sensitively, because Lower Austria is doing everything it can to support art and culture and make it accessible to everyone. This year alone, five new cultural institutions were opened and reopened, including the Former Synagogue, the KinderKunstLabor and the Wiener Neustadt City Theater. “We have thus expanded our cultural infrastructure and, above all, created even more space and space for the freedom of art.”
The state governor concluded by emphasizing: “Your donation to our state collections, esteemed Helmut Zambo, is the best compliment we have ever received for our art and cultural work.” They now want to give something back to Zambo for his commitment, she said and paid tribute to Helmut Zambo with the “Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, 1st Class for your outstanding services to art and culture.”
A great award that he accepted with gratitude, said Helmut Zambo, who gave the laudatory speech for Arnulf Rainer today. He bought Rainer’s first work, “The Crash,” in 1960 after a visit to his studio. He described Rainer as “the most serious artist I know, always fighting for the better picture, who knew no compromises, not in art nor in life.” Zambo further described the artist: “In search of the new picture, that needed improvement, he exploited his body and the great painters of art history and so great new works were created.” No matter what you think about Rainer’s art or what you call it, according to Zambo, “seeing and recognizing what a good picture can do a work of art I learned from him.” He owes him a lot as a collector and as a person.
Also speaking were Julia Flunger-Schulz, managing director of the Arnulf Rainer Museum Baden since January, as well as curator Nikolaus Schieber, who reported on the background to the anniversary exhibition and took the guests on a tour of “Nothing against Everything”. Baden’s mayor Stefan Szirucsek, who was happy that the Arnulf Rainer Museum has been located in Baden for 15 years, said: “The donation from Helmut Zambo to the state of Lower Austria also opens a new phase in the development of the museum.”