Kurt Regschek

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Kurt Regscheck 2004

Kurt Regschek (born June 29, 1923 in Vienna ; † July 26, 2005 there ) was an Austrian painter and representative of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism .

Live and act

Kurt Regschek grew up in Vienna. During his middle school years he worked several times in the Spanish Riding School . The so-called “War Matura”, after which he was drafted into the Wehrmacht , marked the positive conclusion of the 7th grade ; he served in Russia and was wounded several times. Some of his drawings from this period have already survived. In 1943, in the home garrison in Munich, Kurt was given study leave for the Academy of Fine Arts, was charged with fraternizing with a French woman and was charged with treason and served eight months' pre-trial detention in Torgau . At the end of 1943 he came to Africa for probation at the front and was soon taken prisoner of war. He was used by the French troops as a volunteer , then joined the Foreign Legion and took part in the liberation of Vorarlberg in 1945 .

The experiences during the war, especially during the Russian campaign , had left deep scars on Kurt Regschek. After his release from the Foreign Legion, Regschek lived in Paris for five years. For four years he studied at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris . During this time he was particularly fascinated and shaped by Picasso , along with the French Cubists .

In 1951, the longing for home drove him back to Vienna. In 1954 he came to his first studio on Köllnerhofgasse. Soon afterwards his first marriage with Hermine broke up, from which his daughter Trixi, who was born in 1955 and tragically died of a brain tumor in 1970, came. In 1957 he met his future wife Lisl Dohnal. In 1955 Kurt Regschek studied as a guest at the Vienna Art Academy with Robin Christian Andersen and Herbert Boeckl . In all these years Regschek lived from casual work, as a commercial artist, ski instructor as well as graphic artist and extra for film, where he met Fritz Muliar .

In 1958 Kurt Regschek designed his first exhibition with Ernst Fuchs , who also became his best man. After his marriage he was able to devote himself more intensively to painting because his wife, who graduated from the Vienna Fashion School in Schloss Hetzendorf , earned the necessary money. The first successes soon occurred which enabled him to live from his art until his death.

After receiving the advancement award of the City of Vienna (1960) and the award of the Theodor-Körner-Preis (1962) he became a member of the Wiener Künstlerhaus . As a result of his initiative, the famous exhibition of the entire Vienna School in the Basilisk Gallery came about in 1963, in which each of the exhibitors was represented with a picture. In 1965, however, there was a break with colleagues. Regschek stuck to his fantastic representational style, in contrast to the tendency towards abstract painting that was growing stronger during this period. In 1966 he received the Hugo von Montfort Prize .

In 1967 the Regscheks moved to a small house in Pötzleinsdorf , where he lived until his death and where three quarters of his works were created. Important steps in Kurt Regschek's artistic development were the exhibitions in Bregenz, which were brought about through the mediation of the then Festival President Albert Fuchs . During this time he experimented with mind-expanding drugs and was accepted into the Freemasonry Association.

During that time I met with collectors like Irene and Hans Gerling from Cologne and gallery owners like Christoph Kühl from Hanover, Norbert Blaeser from Düsseldorf, Ellen Peter-Sander from Hamburg and many others, from which further fruitful contacts and numerous opportunities for exhibitions developed. The friendship with artists from the Bregenz District also began in the 1970s.

Numerous works were created around many exhibitions, including a. the folders UNO City and The Princely Residence of Liechtenstein . At the end of the 1970s Regschek turned more and more from panel paintings to watercolor painting and increasingly worked with photographers. In the 1980s he started teaching at some summer academies. In 1987 Regschek was awarded the title of professor .

On the occasion of his 70th birthday, the representative exhibition "Kurt Regschek's works from four decades" took place in 1993 in the Vienna Künstlerhaus . Subsequently, Regschek was awarded the “Golden Laurel” of the Künstlerhaus. On the occasion of his 80th birthday in 2003, there was an exhibition in Pötzleinsdorf Castle with works from various private collections.

Kurt Regschek died on July 25, 2005. In his creative life he has created well over a thousand works. His grave is in the Neustift cemetery (group R, row 11, no. 56).

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personal data
SURNAME Regschek, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian artist and painter
DATE OF BIRTH June 29, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 2005
Place of death Vienna