Born in Krefeld in 1954, Albert Oehlen at first did an apprenticeship in a publishing house before he decided to study art at the Hamburg School of Visual Arts in 1978. The artist has shown his works in exhibitions from an early point on. An intensive co-operation with his artist colleagues is characteristic of Albert Oehlen's oeuvre, since the 1970s he has been working together with, among others, Werner Büttner, Heimo Zobernig, Martin Kippenberger, Jörg Immendorff, Georg Herold or his brother Markus Oehlen. In 2000 Albert Oehlen was appointed professor at the Düsseldorf Art Academy.
Among the most important single exhibitions over the past years are shows in, among others, the Hamburg Deichtorhallen (1994), the Kunsthalle Basle (1997), the Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain in Strasbourg (2002) or the Musée d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris (2009). Renowned collections, for instance the Museum of Modern Art in New York or the 'Museum für Moderne Kunst' in Frankfurt are in possession of his works.
Albert Oehlen is regarded one of the most important protagonists of German Neo-Expressionism. His oeuvre is mannifold and impressive, it comprises paintings, drawings and collages, as well as spacious installations, stage designs and graphic art, computer art, photomontage and even audio records. Among the most gigantic works by Albert Oehlen counts the floor mosaic "Bionic Boogie (Ich, Wasser, Technik)", which was made in context of the art project "In Between" for premises of the EXPO 2000 in Hanover.
Albert Oehlen is a representative of neo-expressive painting. In this context the expressive stroke of the brush, ironic image subjects, a sparking coloring and at times provocative titles are characteristic of his work. Representatives of neo-expressive painting are synonymously called "Neue Wilde" (New Wild Ones), which references the drastic act of artistic creation.