It’s no secret that the late Austrian artist, Egon Schiele (1890-1918), is widely regarded as the “Bad Boy” of the Austrian Expressionist art world. His penchant for sensational and controversial erotic paintings of nude figures have long held a special fascination for collectors the world over. In fact, in the wake of the centenary anniversary of his premature demise last year – which saw some of the most-lauded art museums worldwide pay tribute to his oeuvre – the Austrian painter’s masterpieces have become even more highly sought-after across the globe.
Despite the burgeoning rise of passionate and dedicated Asian art collectors, to date, Egon Schiele has never been represented or displayed by any gallery within the region. It was a particularly thrilling treat, then, when the internationally acclaimed gallerist Richard Nagy showed an expansive collection of 45 museum-quality Schiele artworks at the recent Art Basel Hong Kong fair – the first-ever retrospective show of the Austrian artist’s works in Asia.
A self-confessed fan of Egon Schiele, Richard Nagy (owner of the eponymous Richard Nagy Ltd art gallery) says: “Schiele’s an artist that I’ve worked with for almost 40 years now, and still find exciting. He’s intellectually stimulating and very confrontational.”
“Not only did he break with convention by becoming the first Austrian Expressionist painter, he also reinterpreted the depiction of naked women as individuals wholly in control of their bodies, rather than as objects for the voyeuristic pleasure of men. His works are vibrant and unapologetically raw. It’s something to which people still react and it’s still the reason that some people are upset by him. It gets under their skin.”
Check out our interview with Richard Nagy in the video below to find out exactly why Egon Schiele is such a fascinating figure, and why his artworks were at the centre of the his gallery’s Art Basel Hong Kong exhibition.