Franz Traunfellner

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Woodcut Alter Hof

Franz Traunfellner (born March 25, 1913 in Gerersdorf ; † February 17, 1986 there ) was an Austrian painter and graphic artist .

Life

Franz Traunfellner was born in 1913 on a farm in Gerersdorf near Pöggstall in the southern Waldviertel . Even at school he was noticed by his unusual talent for drawing. When he happened to receive woodcut tools, he began to do autodidactic work with wood engraving and woodcut . He was also interested in other graphic techniques, with Professor Kromar von Hohenwolf in Melk teaching him the technique of etching .

Even before the Second World War, Traunfellner was able to take part in exhibitions. After the end of the war, he returned to his parents' farm, where, in addition to working in agriculture, he now devoted himself more intensively to artistic creation; mainly wood engravings and woodcuts, but also etchings and drypoint prints. In 1956, a scholarship enabled him to learn lithographic techniques at the Graphic Education and Research Institute in Vienna. Participation in exhibitions at home and abroad as well as frequent press reports increased his awareness. In 1960 he was the first artist to receive the newly created Lower Austrian Culture Prize for the fine arts.

In 1963 Traunfellner gave up farming and from then on lived as a freelance artist. In the 23 years up to his death, most of his extensive oeuvre was created, which was not limited to graphics, but also included monotypes and painting. Numerous exhibitions, acquisitions from museums and collections as well as reports on radio and television further contributed to his fame. He also found time to travel, preferably to southern Europe, but also to Paris and the Worpswede artists' colony . His artistic home always remained in his immediate surroundings. The landscape of the Waldviertel, its people and animals, offered plenty of inspiration for his artistic work.

Franz Traunfellner died in 1986 and is buried in the Pöggstaller local cemetery.

plant

Traunfellner's work can be understood from its environment. He himself said in a biographical essay: "I wanted to express the essence of the landscape creatively, for example the barren lines of the wintry landscape." The arc of his artistic development spans from early naturalistic drawings and wood engravings to strongly reduced woodcuts in which only the essential lines can be found, but always remaining representational, whereby these works develop a strong expressiveness.

Wood engraving and woodcut were Traunfellner's preferred techniques. With a few exceptions, all of the sheets are hand-printed by himself, as the artist viewed the printing process as an essential part of the creative process. In addition, he created drawings, color woodcuts , etchings, lithographs, monotypes, oil paintings and watercolors .

Works by the artist are u. a. in possession of

Memberships (selection)

  • 1948 Austrian Ex Libris Society
  • 1956 Regional Association of Lower Austrian Art Associations
  • 1958 Salzburger Kunstverein , Künstlerhaus Salzburg
  • 1963 ARTA Salzburg and ARTA International (ARTA was an association of artists and art lovers, dissolved in 2007)
  • 1965 Society of Visual Artists Austria , Künstlerhaus Vienna
  • 1979 International woodcutter association " Xylon "

Exhibitions (selection)

  • 1937 First known exhibition together with Kromar von Hohenwolf, location unknown
  • 1948 Cultural Office of the City of Krems
  • 1950–1974 Regular participation in the spring and autumn exhibitions of the Künstlerhaus Vienna
  • 1956–1985 Regular participation in the traveling exhibitions of the regional association of Lower Austrian art associations
  • 1958–1982 Regular participation in the exhibitions of the Künstlerhaus Salzburg and the Traklhaus Salzburg
  • 1959 "Austrian Woodcut", Tokyo and Osaka
  • 1960 Oberhaus Museum, Passau
  • 1964 Kleine Galerie Neudeggergasse, Vienna
  • 1965 Künstlerhaus Vienna
  • 1967–1982 participation in the exhibitions of ARTA Zurich
  • 1968 Lower Austrian State Museum
  • 1973 Galerie Volksbank Zwettl, presentation of the book "Mein Waldviertel"
  • 1974 Austrian Cultural Institute, New York and Fine Arts Club, Canada
  • 1975 Galerie Schwarzer, Vienna
  • 1976 Alte Schmiede Gallery, Vienna
  • 1978 Large personal exhibition in the Galerie am Rabensteig, Vienna
  • 1979 "Xylon 8", Triennale, Winterthur
  • 1980 Xylon International traveling exhibition through several countries in Europe and South America
  • 1981 Geras Abbey
  • 1982 "International Woodcut", Künstlerhaus Vienna
  • 1983 Lower Austrian Documentation Center for Modern Art, St. Pölten
  • 1984 Galerie Wolfrum, Vienna, presentation of the monograph "Franz Traunfellner"
  • 1986 (posthumously) Galerie Belvedere (formerly Österreichische Galerie Oberes Belvedere), Vienna
  • 2013 (posthumously) "Franz Traunfellner on the 100th birthday", Lower Austrian Documentation Center for Modern Art, St. Pölten

In 1994 the permanent documentation "Franz Traunfellner - Life and Work" was opened in Rogendorf Castle in Pöggstall in Lower Austria's Waldviertel, where special exhibitions that changed every year were shown. It has been closed since the end of 2015 due to renovations in the castle in preparation for the Lower Austrian State Exhibition 2017. From autumn 2020 it will be accessible again in a new arrangement. More information can be found on the homepage of the municipality of Pöggstall.

Honors (selection)

  • 1948 Silver Medal from the Province of Lower Austria
  • 1956 Golden Medal of the Province of Lower Austria
  • 1960 Culture Prize for Fine Arts of the State of Lower Austria
  • 1968 Silver Medal for Services to the State of Lower Austria
  • 1974 professional title professor
  • 1984 Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art
  • 1984 Golden Laurel of the Austrian Society of Fine Artists, Künstlerhaus Vienna

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Traunfellner, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian painter and graphic artist
DATE OF BIRTH March 25, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Gerersdorf
DATE OF DEATH February 17, 1986
Place of death Gerersdorf