Skip to content
Obituaries
Link copied to clipboard

Otto Muehl | Radical artist, 87

Austrian painter Otto Muehl, 87, whose radical notions of art were exceeded only by the excesses in his lifestyle, died Sunday in Portugal, according to Daniele Roussel, the head of his archived works, who did not provide the cause of death.

Austrian painter Otto Muehl, 87, whose radical notions of art were exceeded only by the excesses in his lifestyle, died Sunday in Portugal, according to Daniele Roussel, the head of his archived works, who did not provide the cause of death.

Mr. Muehl was a cofounder of the Vienna Actionism, a controversial art movement in the 1960s, and his works shocked audiences with their use of blood, excrement, and the human body as materials.

He was convicted in 1991 of crimes including illicit drug use and sex with minors while heading a commune. He was imprisoned for nearly seven years.

In 2010, Mr. Muehl apologized to his juvenile victims. - AP