Friedrich Zettl

Friedrich Zettl is an Austrian artist whose work brings European modernism into dialogue with more than four decades of engagement with Chinese painting, calligraphy and art theory.

His artistic development was profoundly shaped by the years he spent in Beijing from the late 1970s onward, studying Sinology and Chinese art and working with traditional painting and calligraphy. His academic research focused on xieyi — Chinese freehand painting — and its underlying aesthetic principles.

Rather than combining “Eastern” and “Western” styles, Zettl has developed a personal visual language in which spontaneous gesture, calligraphic discipline, abstraction and philosophical inquiry interact.

Working primarily on paper with ink, acrylic, charcoal, pastel and mixed media, his practice ranges from gestural abstraction and contemporary surrealism to radically reduced works informed by Chinese painting and calligraphy.

Central to his work is the idea of Applied Philosophy: painting as a means of exploring perception, transformation, emptiness, ambiguity and the emergence of form.

Recent bodies of work include Zen Brut, Zenimals, Painted Haiku, experimental and painted calligraphy, New Surrealism, and works responding to music, literature a...

Friedrich Zettl studied Sinology in Vienna and Beijing and pursued intensive studies in traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy and seal carving during his years in China.

In Beijing he studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), becoming one of the first European students admitted there after the Cultural Revolution.

His academic research focused on Chinese freehand painting (xieyi, 写意) and the aesthetic and theoretical principles underlying this tradition.

These studies became a lasting foundation for his artistic practice, particularly his understanding of brushwork, calligraphic gesture, negative space and the relationship between technical discipline and spontaneity.

2024 — Imaginarium, Group Exhibition, São Paulo, Brazil
2024 — Boomer Gallery, Group Exhibition, London, United Kingdom
2022 — Hong Art Museum Project, Group Exhibition, Chongqing, China
2018 — Schiff Gallery, Solo Exhibition, Vienna, Austria
1995 — Kunstraum, with Chiaki Genba, Vienna, Austria
1993 — Solo Exhibition, Verbandsgemeinde Herrstein, Germany
1992 — Solo Exhibition, Verbandsgemeinde Birkenfeld, Germany
1990 — Galerie L’Aigle Aigu, Solo Exhibition, Brussels, Belgium
1989 — Kulisse, Solo Exhibition, Vienna, Austria
1988 — Galerie im Presshaus, Solo Exhibition, Vienna, Austria
1987 — BAWAG, Solo Exhibition, Vienna, Austria
1986 — International School, Vienna International Centre, Vienna, Austria
1984 — Solo Exhibition, Beijing, China
1983 — Academy of Fine Arts, with Maria Fang, Beijing, China
1982 — Café Central, Solo Exhibition, Vienna, Austria
1982 — Academy of Fine Arts, Solo Exhibition, Beijing, China
1980 — Galerie ERGO, Solo Exhibition, Vienna, Austria
1979 — Galerie ERGO, Group Exhibition, Vienna, Austria
1978 — Austrian Embassy, Solo Exhibition, Beijing, China
1976 — Galerie Bona Mente, with Klaus Weber, Vienna, Austria