Artist Günter Brus

Brus remains provocative even after his death

In 2024, Styria lost its most famous and probably most provocative artist: Günter Brus died in February at the age of 85. Shortly afterwards, the FPÖ launched a political attack on the Bruseum dedicated to him. Roman Grabner, director of the Bruseum, explains what remains of the great actionist and why he was personally disappointed.

Actionist, draughtsman, writer, an "open mind" - Günter Brus was many things, but above all the most famous contemporary Styrian artist. Hardly anyone knows his work as well as Roman Grabner. Since 2012, he has been the director of the Bruseum in Graz, which is part of the Neue Galerie and the Universalmuseum Joanneum. Grabner sees the impact of Günter Brus every day: "We recently had an inquiry from an Italian textbook publisher. They want to show the 'Viennese Walk'" - one of Brus' most famous actions from 1965.

Brus died in Graz on February 10. He was 85 years old. "Günter Brus was actively involved right to the end," says Grabner. "He was still enquiring from hospital about how the exhibition at Kunsthaus Bregenz was going. His death came as a surprise to me."

Roman Grabner, director of the Bruseum in Graz, in front of a drawing by Hermann Nitsch(Bild: Universalmuseum Joanneum/J.J. Kucek)

What remains of Brus? "His art creates a positive and stimulating restlessness that shakes up opinions," describes Grabner. "You gain new perspectives. We want to convey how comprehensive and enriching his approach to fundamental questions of existence is."

Politically contested
In May, just a few months after his death, the Styrian FPÖ launched a campaign against Brus' legacy. His art was denigrated as "fecal art and pornography", the current provincial councillor Stefan Hermann called it a "waste of taxpayers' money" and demanded the closure of the Brus Museum.

In the new government program, Blue-Black has backed away from the plans to sell the museum. "The FPÖ couldn't even close the Bruseum," says Roman Grabner. It is secured by contracts. "And it is part of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, the collection founded by Archduke Johann." The Bruseum director found the attack so immediately after the death "humanly disappointing". 

Günter Brus' "Viennese Walk"(Bild: Bruseum)

Investment has increased tenfold
In fact, the Bruseum is anything but a waste of money: in 2008, says Roman Grabner, the province of Styria bought the collection for one million euros. "Today it is worth at least ten times as much. Today, a single Brus work costs one million euros. We have the largest institutional collection." 

The majority of the estate belongs to the Brus family. When internationally renowned museums such as the Centre Pompidou, the Tate Modern or the MoMA show interest in the work, this is only a good thing: "You have to think bigger in terms of art. Almost no museum can ignore Günter Brus."