Michael Ornauer Austrian, b. 1979

At the core of Ornauer's practice lies an ongoing exploration of the tension between control and coincidence. His paintings evolve through a process of continuous transformation, in which each layer responds to and reshapes the one beneath it. Rather than treating unexpected results as mistakes, Ornauer embraces them as opportunities for further development. This philosophy resonates with the Japanese art of Kintsugi, in which imperfections and fractures become essential elements of an object's identity and beauty.

Using a distinctive squeegee technique, Ornauer draws paint vertically across the canvas, creating fluid transitions in which colours merge, dissolve, and occasionally collide. These shifting chromatic boundaries form the visual and conceptual foundation of his work. Through successive layers, he explores the delicate balance between harmony and disruption, precision and spontaneity, allowing the painting to develop according to its own internal logic.

Colour is both the subject and the driving force of Ornauer's artistic investigation. His compositions range from luminous, richly layered colour fields to restrained black monochromes. In the latter, previously completed paintings are partially concealed beneath dark surfaces, transforming reduction into a form of renewal. The tension between beauty and kitsch, visual seduction and deliberate restraint, remains a recurring concern throughout his practice. His more recent works further explore transparency, lightness, and the subtle interactions between colour and surface.

Ornauer's exhibition history includes The Quiet Order of Things at SUPPAN, Vienna (2026), Beyond Surface at SUPPAN Schaulager, Vienna (2025–2026), Im Osten nichts Neues (2024), Vierzig (2023), 16 × 12 (2022), and The Weight of Color (2021), all presented by SUPPAN in Vienna. Further solo presentations include The Painter's Cabinet in Miami (2022) and Das Spektakel des Sichtbaren at Galerie Rudolf Leeb, Vienna (2019). His work has also been featured in international art fairs, including Art Brussels (2026), Future Fair New York (2024, 2025), Enter Art Fair Copenhagen (2025), and SPARK Art Fair Vienna (2022).

In 2010, Ornauer was nominated for the Georg Eisler Prize at the Bank Austria Kunstforum Vienna. His artistic development has been accompanied by exhibitions, publications, and collaborations that reflect his sustained engagement with the evolving possibilities of contemporary abstract painting.

Through his intuitive and experimental approach, Ornauer transforms painting into a continuous negotiation between intention and unpredictability. His works reveal how colour, material, and chance can generate their own visual order, suggesting that imperfection is not something to overcome, but an essential condition of artistic creation.