

About
The Austrian artist began his education as a fashion designer in Vienna, went thereafter to Italy, where he attended Accademia Italiana Moda in Florence. Some years later he continued his art studies in New York and Germany. The wide range of perceptions, coupled with experiences in foreign cultures enriched and expanded his vision of art, that shapes his personal and distinctive style.
Herwig Maria Stark has a habit of pointing out the trigger points of our western society. With a cynical brushstroke, he captures the indifferent helplessness that constant overload and draining emptiness leave in people.
The constant pursuit of “THE way of life” comes with a prize and leaves the modern social being alone with their inner conflicts and outer decadence. Restless souls in a world of illusions: strong but fragile, demanding but vulgar, smart but desperate, fun-loving but burned out, ambitious but lonely.
His works manifest the chronic identity crisis of a white, capitalist society, stressed by aimlessness and lack of imagination. The immortal heroes of bourgeois worlds are always present: our role models, decals, clichés, pin-ups, all dusty, battered, strained—small visions that shine in new splendor.
Education
1985-1989
Fashion School in Schloß Hetzendorf - Vienna, Austria
1989-1990
Accademia Italiana arte moda design – Florence, Italy
2000
Studies in painting under Irina Nakhova – New York, USA
2002
Studies in painting under Prof. Franz Graf, Akademie der bildenden Künste – Vienna, Austria
2007
Studies of the Techniques of the old masters, Akademie Faber-Castell – Stein near Nuremberg, Germany
2009
Studies of the Techniques of the old Italian masters under Angel Ramiro Sanchez, The Florence Academy of Art – Florence, Italy
Awards
1990
International design diploma, Accademia Italiana arte moda design – Florence, Italy
1996
Award for the Best Men´s Collection 1996 by the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture – Vienna, Austria
2005
1st award Lorenzo il Magnifico at the 5th Florence Biennale 2005 – Florenz, Italien
2006
2nd award of the Jury at Internationale Biennale für Bildende Kunst Austria 2006 – Hüttenberg, Austria
2009
On occasion of Art Contest On Web 2008–2009, the artwork THE DOLL was awarded with the 1st prize by the jury of the Concilio Europeo dell’Arte – Venice, Italy
2014
Award International Biennale Artists Miami 2014, Nina Torres Fine Art – Miami, USA
2017
Finalist of Premio Marchionni. Concorso internatzionale d’arte comtemporanea 2017 – Sardinia, Italy
Public Collections
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Museo MAGMMA – Museo d’arte grafica mediterraneo Marchionni – Villacidro, Italien / Italy
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Jan Kossen Foundation – New York, USA
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Fondazione Opera Campana dei Caduti – Rovereto, Italien / Italy
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Van Abbe Museum – Eindhoven, Niederlande / Netherlands
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Paul Getty Foundation – Siena, Italien / Italy
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Trierenberg Art – Traun, Österreich / Austria
Professional memberships
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Biennale Austria, Verein zur Förderung zeitgenössischer Künstler*innen – Wien, Österreich / Vienna, Austria
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Concilio Europeo dell’Arte – Venedig, Italien / Venice, Italy
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Unione Cattolica Artisti Italiani – Venedig, Italien / Venice, Italy