Location: Austria
Manuel Langstadlinger was born as the third child of four in the small town of Neulengbach, Lower Austria, on August 18, 1990. He grew up there and still lives in this place today. As the son of a Sinto (Romani) who was active in the art scene himself, his talent was noticed as a young child.
When he was 5 years old, he regularly picked up pens to record everything that came to his mind.
Inspired by his father, the first years were marked by realism. Many different motifs were created during this time, most of which were portraits and imaginative scenarios.
But later on, art functioned relatively quickly as a place of refuge in which he could deal with daily family problems as well as emotions.
Day in, day out, he and his siblings lived in the midst of a destructive environment that left deep marks on everyone. Due to the ethnic origin and the social status of the family, the artist had to experience rejection and social exclusion outside his own four walls.
The effects of this can be seen in his earlier works. They got darker and more expressive in many ways. Initially, however, he did not show this work in public and did not share it with his own family, as it was never intended to attract attention. In 2006 the artist started the first exhibitions. Here his realistic drawings were presented at the beginning and later his more recent ones.
In 2007 the artist began to focus on developing his own style.
It was clear to him what he wanted to do with others with his pictures. Namely nothing. Art doesn't always have to mean something to others. Langstadlinger makes his creations for himself. He literally invites the viewer into his world as a guest. An insight into the intimate psyche of himself.
Even though he has always liked to show his works in an exhibition, he decided to hold his last exhibition in 2012, which took place in Club B72 in Vienna. That decision didn't just come out of nowhere. Langstadlinger made his personal experiences in the art scene over the years. For him these were more negative than positive.
He saw how often it is in this scene. The actions, the views that were often represented.
The artist wanted to gain distance from this society and from now on be there exclusively for himself and his art. Meanwhile, his brother's health continued to deteriorate, delaying his return to public life.
In 2016 he completed his training as a graphic designer in Vienna with the title “Bachelor of Arts”.
In 2017, Langstadlinger registered on the social media platform Instagram in order to get back to the masses a little more. Today he has a few thousand subscribers who follow him and his works.
Finally, in 2019, he returns with an exhibition in Vienna. Which was initiated by MBA Franz Erhard Lerch, Chairman of the Vienna Art Forum. Immediately afterwards, a joint exhibition with the artist Michael J Masata followed in the same gallery.