Albert Oehlen was born in Krefeld, Germany in 1954. His father was a part-time artist; Oehlen studied art in Hamburg with Sigmar Polke, among others, but it was Polke whose free spirit he found most appealing. He lived for a time in Berlin. His paintings, with their dark and lurid color appear expressionist at a glance, but he called himself a social realist.

Oehlen settled in Hamburg, working with Werner Buttner; Hamburg was devoid of nightlife and the thronging subculture crowds that Berlin had. Still, the two painters managed to keep up the appearance of dandyism and success, such as Oehlen's Porsche which was permanently parked outside his studio because he never learned how to drive.

Written and submitted by Jean Ershler Schatz, artist and researcher from Laguna Woods, California.

Sources include:
ARTnews, April 1986
Article in Art in America, December 1988