Early Life and Artistic Training

Born in 1953 in Bemberg/ Wurmannsquick, Alois Öllinger began his formal engagement with visual language through the lens of design. Between 1973 and 1977, he studied communication design at the Fachhochschule München. It was during this formative period that he earned a diploma for his work on the logo “Pfennigparade,” a project that marked his early command of structured visual communication.

Seeking a deeper immersion into the fine arts, Öllinger moved to the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München in 1977. His studies there lasted until 1981, a period defined by rigorous academic instruction under the guidance of Professors Rudi Tröger and Horst Sauerbruch. This era of training provided the technical foundation for his transition from design into the more expansive realms of painting and sculpture.

The early 1980s saw the culmination of his academic pursuits in Munich. After completing his state examination in 1981, he continued his specialization, eventually receiving a diploma in painting in 1983. This sequence of study, moving from the precise requirements of communication design to the expressive possibilities of fine art, established the technical breadth that would characterize his subsequent professional life.

Artistic Style and Creative Practice

Öllinger’s practice is defined by a restless movement between the tangible and the conceptual. His work spans the traditional disciplines of painting and drawing, yet it frequently moves beyond the canvas to engage with the physical environment. In his large-format paintings and detailed drawings, he explores landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and interiors. These subjects are not merely representations; they are attempts to navigate the perception of reality, translating the world into a visual language of plane, color, and space. He seeks to counter the chaos of existence by placing structured, designed signs against the backdrop of the perceived world.

This investigation into perception eventually led him toward the realm of conceptual and installation art. A significant shift in his creative direction occurred following an encounter with Franz Erhard Walther, which helped shape his move toward more abstract, idea-driven methods. His later work often abandons the static nature of the easel to embrace art actions in public spaces. In these instances, he utilizes image objects and even lasers to manipulate light and space, turning the act of creation into a temporal event rather than a finished object.

Exhibitions and Professional Recognition

Alois Öllinger’s presence in the German art scene is marked by a steady progression through significant regional and institutional venues. His solo exhibitions have spanned several decades, beginning with a showing at the Städtische Galerie Cordonhaus in Cham in 1989. This was followed by a presentation at the Stadtmuseum Deggendorf in 1994. By the late nineties, his work moved into the Kunstverein Passau, where he exhibited alongside Wolfgang Mally in 1998. The turn of the millennium saw his work featured at the Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie in Regensburg, and later at the Städtische Galerie Leerer Beutel in Regensburg in 2006.

His professional standing is further reflected in his membership within the Neuen Münchner Künstlergenossenschaft at the Haus der Kunst in München. This institutional connection is complemented by his participation in broader group exhibitions, such as the 2009 exhibition titled "Was uns antreibt" at the Haus der Kunst. His contributions to the cultural landscape were formally recognized in 2010 when he was awarded the Brückenbauerpreis des Zentrums Bavaria – Bohemia.