Biography - Reinhard Schell

Reinhard   Schell   was born   in Austria   in 1971 ,  but   lives and works in Spittal/Drau and temporary in Natal (Brazil). As member of the Association of Artists Potiguares (Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil) and of Austria (Berufsvereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs), he works with painting, sculpture and installation art. The artist has held international exhibitions like the "Biennale Arte Dolomiti" in Cibiana di Cadore (Italy) in 2016 an 2018. In 2019 his recent work "Peace" will be exhibited in front of the Messner Mountain Museum Dolomites of mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner.

In   2007 Reinhard Schell  had two works  of  the series   1   +1   =   1 ,  selected for   the competition of   visual arts" , Abraham Palatinik, held in the Pinacoteca in  Natal (state-run art gallery),   Rio   Grande do Norte, Brazil. Due to   positive reviews of   the works exhibited   in the Pinacoteca , the artist  was invited   in 2008   to perform   a   solo exhibition ,  1   +1   =   1 ,  also   in the Palace Potengi ,  Pinacoteca  in Natal.
In his   series called   1 +1   = 1, two   bodies or   forms   merge and   become   one.   The   work itself   intends to take   the viewer   to the   reflection   that art   not only   knows no borders ,  but also   can overcome   even the laws   of mathematics .
In 2012 ,  Reinhard   Schell   participated in the   exhibition " thinking  + " held  at the Art Gallery   of   the University Campus   IFRN ( Instituto  Federal   do Rio   Grande do Norte ),  with the work " The female  Thinker ":  here   the artist   carried the   " Thinker  " of Rodin,  to modern times   and   turned into   a woman ,  made of   barbed wire.   The  female  Thinker   is inside   a globe   and connected   to it   via an   umbilical cord   that   comes out of her   genitalia. While Rodin translated the act of thinking into tension of every muscle of his thinker and thus mental work could be felt, in Reinhard Schell's "Female Thinker" independent women need even today thorns, in order to compete in conflicts.

In June 2014 Reinhard Schell transformed the thinker Auguste Rodin´s to the present time specifically in the time of the World Cup 2014. The figure Reinhard Schell´s was a student who is reading a book in her hand on an oversized football. As criticism of the World Cup 2014, in which enormous sums of money are "burned", rather than being invested in education, Reinhard Schell lit his installation "Pensando bem" ("Think about it"). Schell´s perfomance took place at the opening of the exposition "Copa Cultural" in the State Art Gallery of Natal, Brazil. In addition to   Reinhard   Schell   at the exhibition " Cultural  Copa "  works of Swiss   artist   H.R.   Giger were   shown.

In 2015   Reinhard   Schell   participated   in   "1 st   Venice   Triennale -   In the Name of   Freedom   in   the Art "  in Venice  Palazzo   Albrizzi .  In  this exhibition   38   artists from   ten countries   including China ,  Sweden ,  USA,   Lebanon ,  Italy, Singapore ,  Taiwan ,  Germany   and   Brazil were presented .  Another  Austrian  representative was the artist   Josef   Linschinger ,  until 2013   University   Professor   at the Art University   Linz .
Until October 2, 2016 Reinhard Schell thinker of barbed wire and 3 of his cast aluminum figures can be seen on the 1st Biennale Arte Dolomiti in Cibiana di Cadore, about 27 km from Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Italian province of Belluno. Altogether 40 artists, including Yoko Ono, Viriginia Ryan and Vibha Galhotra from 19 countries, such as Italy, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Georgia, India, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Turkey and the US are exposing at Ex-Caserma at an altitude of 2.183 meters above sea level.
At Dolomiti Biennale Reinhard Schell embarks in "Thinker Pose" in a rubber boat at Monte Rite.
His performance "Thinking about Future - Navegar é Preciso" is closely linked to the current refugee crisis. Nobody knows his future. Anyone can, regardless of religion, financial or social status become refugee by wars, financial or environmental disasters.
Schell's performance is also inspired by the words of Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa "Navegar é preciso, viver não é preciso" – To navigate is necessary, to live is not. Seafaring as a paraphrase for the path of life in service of society, in contrast to a target and unconscious life.
Reinhard Schell´s installation "PEACE", produced for the 2nd Biennale Arte Dolomiti, ROSENGARTEN: The Garden of the Rose 2018, refers to the martial history of the exhibition venue and deals with inside and outside, outside or inside as a form of "in-between-ness ". Schell's Peace Dove is made of structural steel, cast aluminum, and barbed wire, which was used on the fronts especially in World War I, and is located on a cube-shaped pedestal. Opposite the figure hangs a birdcage mounted on a gallows. In the entrance area of the showroom, vertical metal bars are fixed to the floor, making it difficult to enter. Inside or outside, outside or inside - following Gernot Ragger's essays "The Other Side" is a matter of opinion. The showroom appears in red light, like alpenglow or like the firelight of a war battle.


Reinhard   Schell   has   public works   in   Brazil ,  held by the   Municipality   of Rio   Grande do Norte   and the   Pinacoteca (state-run art gallery) , of  the same State.   In Austria ,  accentuate  his  sculptures ,  made of cast - aluminum,   which can be found   in the city of   Spittal   an der   Drau ,  in the town of   Seeboden („MorgensternAdler", [Morgenstern eagle], sculpture in honoure of Thomas Morgenstern, Olympic champion in ski-jumping)  and  the  Hospice of   Elderly  " Marienheim".
In 2019 his recent work "Peace" will be permanently exhibited in front of the Messner Mountain Museum Dolomites of mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner on Monte Rite at an altitude of 2,181 meters.