Kokoschka influenced the Avantgarde of Expressionism. From 1904, he studied at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. As early as 1907, he worked for the Vienna Workshop, leaving it again in 1909 under the influence of Adolf Loos. His paintings shown at the Vienna Kunstschau exhibitions in 1908 and 1909 caused a particular stir. The following year, he worked for the Berlin magazine “Der Sturm [The Tempest]”, where he also published his play “Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen [Murder, the Hope of Women]”. In addition, he concludes a contract with the Paul Cassirer Gallery, Berlin. He returns to Vienna a year later. Various participations in exhibitions follow, in Budapest, Zurich, Munich and Stuttgart.
In 1912 and 1913, Kokoschka worked as an assistant at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. His legendary love affair with Alma Mahler-Schindler falls into this period. After their separation, Kokoschka voluntarily enlisted and was wounded in 1915. Around 1917, he joined the Arts and Cultural Cycle around the actress Käthe Richter. He was a professor at the Dresden Academy from 1919 to 1924. Afterwards, Kokoschka went on several trips: Paris, Bordeaux, Biarritz, London, Berlin, Tunis, the Sahara, Ireland, Scotland, Egypt, Istanbul, Jerusalem. In 1934, political developments force the artist to leave Austria and to move to Prague, where he lived until 1938. His first big exhibition takes place in Vienna in 1937. The same year, 417 of his works are branded “degenerate art” in Germany and confiscated. Kokoschka escapes National Socialism by fleeing to London the following year.
Living in London from 1938 to 1952, Kokoschka became a British Citizen in 1947. After the war, he was honored numerous times, and participated in many important exhibitions. His teaching activities included the “Schule des Sehens [School of Seeing]” in Salzburg, which he co-founded. In 1953, he moved to Villeneuve on Lake Geneva.
Until 1911, Kokoschka primarily focuses on people - during this period, the face is particularly important for the artist. It is as if he shines a light through his object’s soul. Around 1910, his portrayals become increasingly expressive. Contours and colors are pulled apart, until around 1912, black contours disappeared completely, becoming colorful. By now, Kokoschka’s work is characterized by landscapes and figurative presentations. Around 1919, broad, primed areas of color take over from his earlier linear color application, creating a mosaic style which ends in a color-intensive mesh of lines and allowing the artist the greatest possible freedom of design. From the mid-1920s, all aspects of his painting combine, largely determining the remainder of his work.
His works are represented in all international museums and collections.
