In the 1970s and 80s he was a founding member of the influential neo-expressionist art movement Neue Wilde in Düsseldorf alongside Martin Kippenberger, Markus Lüpertz, and his brother Albert Oehlen.
In the 1970s and 80s, he was an integral part of the innovative Neue Wilde art movement in Düsseldorf, working alongside prominent artists like Martin Kippenberger, Markus Lüpertz, and his brother Albert Oehlen.