Reisenbauer has created a very extensive and homogeneous oeuvre encompassing almost four decades of artistic activity. In 1986 he created the first drawings that hint at his later style: repeated images of trees or people. His characteristic serial depictions of a particular motif can already be identified from 1989 onward. At the same time, similar subjects are present from his early to his late phase, particularly everyday objects like tables, cups, and umbrellas or natural motifs, such as flowers or the sun. The artist initially preferred small sheets of paper, using pencil and colored pencils to work on their white surface. In the nineties he began creating larger works on paper in addition to his small drawings, and in early 2000 the artist also started using large-format canvases, which he worked on with black permanent marker and acrylics. What unites all of these works is their shared formal composition. Black contour lines are used to draw the motif on a white background, which is then filled in with color or sometimes multiple colors—although he prefers monochrome tonalities, with yellow, red, blue, and green dominating his oeuvre. Reisenbauer additionally uses the vertical and horizontal repetition of a motif to generate serial rows that provide his subject matter with a heightened sense of presence and encourage viewers to engage more intensely with a motif or theme.

Heinrich Reisenbauer was born on July 29, 1938, and grew up on a farm in southern Lower Austria, near Wiener Neustadt. He attended an advanced-level secondary school but became ill before completing his degree. He was housed at the “Mental Health and Care Facility at Gugging” from 1956 onward. Johann Feilacher became aware of Reisenbauer’s artistic talent and, in 1986, invited him to move to the “House of Artists,” where he has lived and worked ever since. The Art Museum Versi, in South Korea, devoted a solo exhibition to his work in 2023.