Michael
Weitnauer has lived most of his life in Australia with periods of time spent in
Europe. He has a close connection with
Berlin, where both his parents grew up and lived before emigrating to Australia
in 1952.
Weitnauer comes
from a family with a strong art background - his grandfather, Arthur Fischer,
was a renowned German landscape and portrait painter based in Berlin; and his
mother, who studied at the Berlin School of Applied Art, ensured that drawing
and painting were an important part of family life. At age eight Weitnauer had his first set of
oil paints and was entering school art competitions.
In the
mid-seventies, after living in Germany and working for a time at the Berlin
Museum, Weitnauer started to develop a committed interest in painting. In particular, early to mid-twentieth century
European painters had the greatest impact on him, especially Klee, Mirõ and
Kandinsky. From the late-seventies to
the mid-eighties he worked at developing his skills in drawing and
painting.
In 1986, after
becoming particularly inspired by the work of Australian painter Fred Williams,
Weitnauer began to develop a keen interest in landscape painting. Williams' work had an enormous influence on
him and motivated him to apply himself more seriously to his painting. A number of modern contemporary German
painters have also had a strong influence on him, including Hans Hofmann,
Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz and Anselm Kiefer.
In the past
twenty six years Weitnauer has held 50 solo exhibitions and participated in
over 30 group shows around Australia and overseas.
In this time he
has also won and been a finalist in a number of major art awards, including The
Glover Prize, The Hutchins Art Prize and The Wrest Point Art Award.
Michael
Weitnauer is a notable artist who has built a reputation for uniquely depicting
the Tasmanian & Australian landscape in both the representational and
abstract form. His work is constantly evolving as he pushes the boundaries of
his painting practice. He belongs to a
respected group of contemporary Tasmanian artists whose works are constantly in
demand and whose reputations are growing nationally and overseas.
Weitnauer’s
paintings are held in private, corporate and institutional collections in Australia,
New Zealand, Japan, China, Singapore,
Canada, USA, UK and throughout Europe.
He is a graduate of the University of Tasmania.