Erwin Thorn

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Erwin Thorn in front of his works, Rome 1967

Erwin Thorn (born May 18, 1930 in Vienna ; † July 17, 2012 there ) was an Austrian sculptor. In the 1960s he belonged to the ZERO movement.

Life

Thorn attended elementary school in Vienna from 1936 to 1938. In 1938 his family had to leave Austria due to the rise of anti-Semitism. He stayed in Israel for fifteen years, where he completed his high school education. He spent the next two years in the Israeli military and moved to a kibbutz in 1950 . From there he devoted himself to free studies in Jerusalem.

In 1952 he moved back to Austria and studied graphics at the Academy of Applied Arts Vienna, devoting himself to the human shape, designing fabric samples, lithographs, color compositions for book covers and end papers, posters and catalogs, and graduating in 1956.

At the end of the 1950s, he was already networked with many artists at the European Sculpture Symposium in St.Margarethen , in which he took part in 1959 with a sculptural work. In the following decade he took part in several symposia and was inspired by Karl Prantl's philosophy of "free thinking and freedom in free space".

In 1960 he took part in the Cincinnati Biennale and received a scholarship from the Institut Français in Paris the following year. Numerous exhibitions followed in Paris, Milan, Rome, Vienna and Innsbruck. During this time he was able to secure his survival by working as a graphic designer for trade fairs and advertising. He also worked as an assistant for other artists, e. B. he put mosaics in art in architecture .

Thorn made contacts with the ZERO group in Italy and collaborated with artists such as Enrico Castellani and Lucio Fontana . During this time he mostly created monochrome objects . In 1965 Thorn participated in several exhibitions of the ZERO group , the exhibition "ZERO avantgarde 1965" toured several Italian cities until the end of 1966. At the end of the 1960s, several works by Thorn were purchased, including from the Albertina in Vienna, the Museum of the 20th Century in Vienna and the Storm King Art Center , New York. Towards the end of the 1960s, he took up color design in his work.

The successful years were followed by years of disillusionment when he was not welcomed in the art world due to his artistic development and, according to his own statement, was "centrifuged" from the art market. He devoted himself to graphics and, from 1983, taught at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna . There he taught three-dimensional design in the master class for design theory until 1995.

Thorn was in a relationship with the historian, university professor, scientific author and editor Edith Saurer . She was the initiator and co-founder of the specialist magazine “ L'Homme. European Journal of Feminist Humanities ”. The logo for this magazine was designed by Thorn.

Erwin Thorn died on July 17, 2012 at the age of 82 in Vienna. He was buried in the Gersthofer Friedhof in Vienna.

Solo exhibitions

  • 2010: Speaking of lead, considering the words, the eloquence of the foil, Georg Kargl Permanent, Vienna
  • 2008: Kargl Box, Vienna
  • 1979: Works 1959-1979 and work in progress - documentation, Modern Art Gallery, Vienna
  • 1972: Playing games - Galerie next St. Stephan - Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Vienna
  • 1971: WEISS, Museum of the 20th Century, Vienna
  • 1970: Gallery in the Taxis-Palais, Innsbruck
  • 1970: Gallery next to St. Stephan, Vienna
  • 1969: Galerie next St. Stephan - Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Vienna
  • 1967: Austrian Cultural Institute, Rome
  • 1965: Forum Stadtpark, Graz
  • 1964: Galerie Wulfengasse 14, Klagenfurt

literature

  • Art: claim and object. From the School of Applied Arts to the University of Applied Arts in Vienna 1918-1991, pages 224-307, Residenz Verlag, Salzburg Vienna 1991, ISBN 3701707227
  • Roland Schöny: On the work of the artist Erwin Thorn. Conceptual avant-garde with ironic spots, PARNASS magazine 03/2008, pages 98-102
  • Erika Patka and Gabriela Nagler (eds.): Colors of lust and form thoughts. Abstract Paths in Austria 1900 - 2000 , University of Applied Arts, Vienna 2001, page 119

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erwin Thorn - Symposium - St.Margarethen quarry. Retrieved June 13, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Thorn, Erwin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH May 18, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH 17th July 2012
Place of death Vienna