Arnulf Rainer – Grüner Strom

Arnulf Rainer’s Grüner Strom (Green Current) from 1999 belongs to his late explorations of gestural abstraction through printmaking. Executed in drypoint, the etching reveals a dynamic surface of densely worked marks that generate a flowing, almost electric energy within the green-toned field. Rainer’s distinctive cross-hatched strokes create a sense of movement and vitality, turning the compact composition into an immersive visual experience. Produced in a small edition of just 35 hand-signed impressions, this work exemplifies Rainer’s ongoing investigation into color, gesture, and the transformative power of line.

Arnulf Rainer is a key figure in postwar and contemporary Austrian art, widely known for his radical expansion of abstraction and printmaking. Largely self-taught, he developed a highly individual practice influenced by Surrealism and Art Informel, marked by an ongoing challenge to traditional artistic conventions.

Rainer is best known for his concept of overpainting, in which he partially or completely reworks existing images, prints, and photographs through dense, gestural interventions. This process explores themes of erasure, intensity, and psychological depth, transforming the underlying image into a charged field of expression. His prints and etchings extend this approach to works on paper, using forceful marks and layered lines to create powerful, tactile compositions.

Rainer has participated in documenta in Kassel (1972, 1977, 1982) and represented Austria at the Venice Biennale in 1978. Major retrospectives of his work have been held at institutions including the Albertina, Vienna, the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.