(born 1931 in Merano)
Untitled, signed, dated Oberhuber 1951, oil and lacquer on burlap, 160 x 120 cm, framed, (K)

Provenance:
From an Austrian Collection

Oswald Oberhuber in a conversation with Franz Schuh
Alone in the universe
Schuh: How did you begin working, exhibiting, going public?
Oberhuber: At first, it was not publicity that was important to me, but what I was capable of doing. This really mattered to me. It was obvious that I was a keen observer of my surroundings and of the things that were going on. I’ve always been preoccupied with those things either indirectly or directly, because this is also an important moment for oneself: I can only contribute to my own understanding when I know how the whole story goes. It was clear to me that it was over with styles after 1945. This was one of the most essential insights I’d gained, namely the necessity to detach myself from each and every position that pretends that it must be like this and not any different. I claimed that it could be like this, but that many things that are diametrically opposed could work as well simultaneously. I only believe in this kind of interplay, for there is no longer a position to be prescribed from above, neither by the state nor by the church. I am totally alone in the universe and can do as I please. I can swim against the current, I can make counterclaims, and I would also have to accept that these counterclaims are rejected, and then I’d stand alone more than ever…
From: Oswald Oberhuber, Eine Sammlung, published by Löcker, 1988