The Wild Side of Color
Bold. Brilliant. Completely untamed.
This winter, the Cornell Art Museum at Old School Square welcomes internationally acclaimed artist Helmut Koller for KOLLERISM: Vivid & Wild, a Spotlight Feature Exhibition bursting with color, personality and larger-than-life energy.
Featuring 10 striking paintings, the exhibition brings Koller’s unmistakable animal portraits to Downtown Delray Beach. Lions, zebras, elephants and other familiar creatures emerge in unexpected, electric hues—transforming the natural world into something glamorous, playful and impossible to ignore.
Join Us for the Opening
Be among the first to experience KOLLERISM: Vivid & Wild and meet Helmut Koller as we celebrate the opening of this vibrant new exhibition at the Cornell Art Museum.
Thursday, Dec 3, 2026 | 6PM - 8PM
Explore the works up close, discover the artist behind the color and kick off the exhibition surrounded by art, conversation and the creative energy of Old School Square. Then make a night of it in Downtown Delray Beach, with restaurants, cocktails, shopping and nightlife just steps away.
From the Vienna State Opera to Palm Beach
Koller’s path to the canvas is nearly as colorful as his work. Raised in the Austrian countryside, he began his career as a photographer and went on to become the official photographer for the Vienna State Opera, capturing legendary performers including Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Leonard Bernstein and Rudolf Nureyev.
After years behind the camera, Koller shifted his focus to painting, eventually moving from Europe to Manhattan and later to Palm Beach, Florida. Today, his vivid animal portraits are exhibited and collected internationally.
Koller calls his distinctive approach “Kollerism”—the marriage of realistic form with the abstraction of color. The result is a world where animals command the canvas with confidence, individuality and extraordinary presence.
Come see the wild side of the Cornell Art Museum. Whether you join us for opening night or visit throughout the exhibition, KOLLERISM: Vivid & Wild is a colorful reason to experience art—and Downtown Delray Beach—this winter.
“We are excited and honored to welcome to the Cornell the spectacular art of Helmut Koller, who transformed a life shaped by light into a world ablaze with color! From the grandeur of the Vienna State Opera to the boundless ambition of America, his journey is one of perpetual reinvention—capturing icons through his lens, then giving animals a new mythology through paint. His bold, festive works transcend borders and cultures, celebrating the extraordinary beauty of the natural world with a distinctly human sense of joy, elegance, and wonder.”
