biography

Prof. Arthur Redhead was born on May 5th 1955 as the second son of the English soldier Robert Arthur Redhead and the Austrian Hermine Redhead (born Ragger) in Zeltweg. The family originally planned to move to  England together, however Redhead’s mother decided to stay in   Austria  at the last moment. She gave in to her doubts, even though she continued to question her decision until her death in 2006. Despite the separation contact to Redhead’s father continued up to his death in 2001.

At the age of six young Arthur had already developed his love for art and painting and was already drawing daily. Beginning at the age of 14 he visited art seminars by Prof. Robert Schmitt, Prof. August Svoboda and Mag. Walter Csuvala in Knittelfeld. His teachers and the great masters, like van Gogh, Gaugin, Monet, Picasso and especially Cèzanne, were his inspiration. His favorite motives at that time were the landscapes of his hometown, especially the farm of a friend, where Arthur  and his brother (Robert Redhead) spent most of their childhood. 

Redhead, his brother and his two nephews all learned the same occupation in the same business – installer at Firma Schlapschi in Zeltweg. In 1978 he focused very much an his work due to the fact that his brother Robert had died in a tragic accident that year. He hid behind his art to cope with this loss. 

In 1979 Redhead had his first large exhibition in the “Haus der Begegnung” in Vienna Liesing, which was opened by Prof. Robert Schmitt. The paintings in this exhibition were his first works on the topic “Arbeitswelt” (World of Work), which would become a main focus of his art for the next 15 years. The graphic component of his art became very prominent at this time and appeared in the type of woodcut, linocut and linear acrylic paintings. 

In 1983 Redhead met his future wife Monika Brünjes from  Bremerhaven and his life and art would change once again when their daughter Sabrina was born a year later. The family spent most of their holidays in the north of  Germany where Prof. Redhead was invited to an international Symposium in Worpswede in 1992 where he met Peter Zimmerman with whom he began an intensive course on etching. In Worpswede he also started to occupy himself with the art of Paula Modersohn-Beckers, who lived in this small town near Bremen. He studied Vincent van Gogh, for whom he made a large homage from 1988 to 1990. 

From 1990 onwards Prof. Redhead sought more contact to his father in England and then spent his summers there and in  Germany. As his father was very proud of Arthur he supported his son to gain a  foothold in English galleries. Between 1990 and 1997 Redhead held exhibitions in  Cambridge , Coventry , Guildford, Leicester,  York , Uppinham and Loughborough and met the renowned art dealer Mr. Magpie, whom he could impress with his early works. 

Another crucial experience in the life and consequently in the art of Prof. Redhead was his trip to India in 1994. His paintings were “lighter”, because many of these wathercolor paintings were now dominated by the red and orange tones of the East. They were done with a broad paintbrush which let them seem to be more graphic.  In  India he started to focus on the theme “Bewegung der Menschlichen Figur” (Movements of the Human Body), which is still very dominant in his art today. 

By 1995 Prof. Redhead’s graphic achievements were very well-known so that he was chosen for the Austrian pavilion in the international graphic biennial in  Varna . In the same year he also took part in the Summer Exhibition of the  Royal Academyin  London as well. In  Poland, where he was invited to symposiums in 1993 and 1994, he collected many new impressions for his works which were shown in Bulgaria and in  England. 

Prof. Refhead showed a very deep interest in humans in themselves and different cultures. In 1995 he met Don Augustin Rivers Vasques, a shaman from Peru , with whom he soon developed a very close friendship. In four benefit exhibitions held in Zeltweg between 1998 and 2001 Redhead was able to collect enough money to have a school built in Tamshiyacu. In the so called “Redhead-Haus”, which is part of the “Don Augustin Schoolproject” children, in the village are taught lessons in arts and crafts. In return for his efforts, Redhead and his wife were invited to Peru , where he gained a new consciousness for his work and way of thinking.

In 1996 Redhead chose to dedicate himself solely to his art so quit his job as engineer with the company Napiag. After all he took the examination to be a freelance artist and he started to teach. Currently he teaches art in different Austrian cities as well as abroad. On June 1st 2007 he was awarded the title “Professor” by the Austrian Federal Ministry.

At the end of the year 2008 he discovered for him the new technic "Tintografik".