Christina Mitterhuber

Biography

Christina / Christy Mitterhuber (b. Christa Mitterhuber, 1975, in Wels, Austria) is an international contemporary painter. Her artistic trajectory is defined by a high degree of independence and a lifelong, self-directed engagement with painting. Discovering her passion for art during early childhood, she completed her first original oil painting at the age of twelve.

Rather than pursuing a traditional academic route, Mitterhuber refined her eye and technical precision over decades through intensive study of Old Masters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, alongside the French Impressionists, while visiting leading museums worldwide. Her understanding of light, scale, and atmosphere was further shaped by extended residencies in North America (Vancouver) and Australia (Melbourne).

After quietly developing an expansive private oeuvre of over 1,500 oil paintings, she emerged into the public sphere with her inaugural exhibition in Vienna in 2018. Since then, Mitterhuber has sustained an extraordinary international exhibition record, operating largely through direct institutional and curatorial invitations.

Her work has earned deep critical recognition across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, leading to major recurring collaborative projects and publications with prominent curators, galleries, and cultural organizations, including Adelinda Allegretti, Monica Ferrarini, Francesca Callipari, the Effetto Arte Foundation, Artio Gallery, the prestigious Roman institution Galleria Il Collectionista, and the fine arts association Arte in Cammino.

A rare milestone in her career is her recurring presence within protected UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites, where she has been invited to showcase her contemporary large-scale paintings in historic global hubs across Europe.

Beyond her practice as a painter, Mitterhuber deeply values artistic collaboration and community engagement. This is reflected in her work as a guest curator for international institutions, where she actively champions fellow contemporary masters by co-organizing collective showcases to foster cross-cultural dialogue.

On an international scale, her work has been selected for prominent curated screen exhibitions in New York City, including showcase presentations at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Demonstrating her ability to captivate the elite of the global art market, she has built an extensive footprint in the United States through prestigious physical museum and fair exhibitions, ranging from the ultra-exclusive Palm Beach Show and Southampton to curated showcases alongside historical masters such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Henri Matisse in Manhattan.

Her permanent art-historical footprint is solidified by consecutive inclusions in the prestigious Atlante dell’Arte Contemporanea, with institutional exhibition catalogues archived in world-class repositories, including MoMA New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York, the Venice Biennale Library, and prominent European academic university collections.

Mitterhuber continues to work as a full-time independent artist in her three studios in Austria.

Artist Statement

My artistic practice is rooted in the firm conviction that a painting speaks its own distinct visual language, requiring no subsequent verbal explanation. The canvas is the primary site of my articulation. Rather than intellectualizing individual pieces, I view my body of work as a continuous exploration of color, texture, and emotional depth. The artworks stand independently, entering into a direct, unmediated dialogue with the viewer.

At the center of my work is the large-scale format in oil on canvas. Inspired by the compositional techniques of the Old Masters and the atmospheric light studies of Impressionism, I develop a contemporary, abstract visual language. Through the multi-layered application of oil paints and the deliberate integration of textured mediums, I create dynamic surfaces that convey movement and rhythm. Each series, such as WE in RED or Violet, is dedicated to exploring specific color fields and their psychological impact on space.

Influenced by a deep connection to nature and the light atmospheres experienced during extensive stays in North America and Australia, my paintings thematize the transformation of fleeting moments. The works navigate the tension between inner emotion and outer perception.

The ultimate goal of my art is to create visual anchors of optimism, energy, and hope in an increasingly complex world. My path is guided by an unconditional creative autonomy, which manifests in the relentless evolution of my oeuvre.

Website: www.christinamitterhuber.at
Instagram: @christymitterhuber

"Fragile I"- Of the Fragile Series, 2020, oil on canvas, 50 cm x 40 cm

"Fragile II", Of the Fragile Series, 2020, oil on canvas, 50 cm x 40 cm

"Fragile III", Of the Fragile Series, 2020, oil on canvas, 50 cm x 40 cm

"Fragile IV", of the Fragile Series, 2020, oil on canvas, 50 cm x 40 cm

"Fragile V", of the Fragile Series, 2020, oil on canvas, 50 cm x 40 cm

"Fragile VI", of the Fragile Series, 2020, oil on canvas, 50 cm x 40 cm

"Fragile VII", of the Fragile Series, 2020, oil on canvas, 50 cm x 40 cm

"Fragile VIII", of the Fragile Series, 2020, oil on canvas, 50 cm x 40 cm

"Fragile IX", of the Fragile Series, 2020, oil on canvas, 50 cm x 40 cm

"Fragile X", of the Fragile Series I-X, 2020, oil on canvas, 50 cm x 40 cm