Urban blank

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Urban Blank (born April 12, 1922 in Wil St.Gallen ) is a Swiss sculptor , painter , drawing and handicraft teacher and educator .

life and work

Urban Blank grew up in Wil as the son of the altar maker Anton Blank (1884–1971), co-owner of the altar construction company Marmon and Blank , and his mother Paula Blank-Jenny, who died early, who worked as a seamstress.

Like Werner Hilber , Blank completed an apprenticeship as a wood sculptor in his father's business from 1937 to 1940 and entered the St. Gallen School of Applied Arts. He then continued his education with the Zurich sculptor Alfons Magg (1891–1967) and attended lectures on anatomy at the University of Zurich.

As a later assistant to Josef Büsser (1896–1952), Blank worked on large sculptures for the churches of Sirnach , Uznach and Henau . After his study trip to Rome from 1940–1941, Blank wanted to work as a freelance artist in Wil, but this turned out to be impossible. As an assistant to Bernhard Bleeker , he trained in 1941 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich . In 1942 Blank returned to his father's altar construction studio and in 1943 joined the Wiler court society . The society promoted music, literature, and the fine arts. In 1945, Blank set up his own studio in Wil.

Wood sculpture Christophorus, 1950, Schnetztor, Wil, St. Gallen. By Urban Blank (* 1922)
Christophorus , 1950

In 1954 Blank received a federal art scholarship , which enabled him to study at the Munich Academy for another two years in the summer. In winter, Blank worked in the altar construction atelier. In 1956, Blank decided to travel to New York with American art students. After a short study visit at the University of Rochester , Blank decided to emigrate to Santiago de Chile to study the pre-Columbian cultures. Before he entered the Facultad Bellas Artes Universidad de Chile as a student , where he also worked with the sculptor Marta Colvin Andrade (1907–1995), Blank earned his living as a street painter .

In 1958, Blank received the order from the Swiss school Osos para el Colegio Suizo in Ñuñoa Santiago de Chile to design the new building. Blank also devoted himself intensively to sculpture, which brought him increasing recognition, including acceptance into the Chilean artist group, and other commissions. Blank traveled to most of the countries of South America and the examination of the various cultures shaped his work and his work as an artist and educator.

In 1959 Blank took part in the first exhibition of plastic works of art in Parque Forestal in Santiago. The following year he was invited to an exhibition in the hall of the Ministry of Education. At the Swiss school, Blank taught the high school class from 1962 in the subjects of drawing, works of art and art history. In 1967 he married a teacher who also taught at the school. They had four children together.

After a short stay in Switzerland for further training at the Zurich School of Applied Arts , Blank was appointed to Chile in 1974. There he taught for a year as a full-time professor of sculpture at the Facultad Bellas Artes Universidad de Chile . He then traveled to the Swiss School Campus Mexico City for a sculpture commission.

In 1974 Blank returned to Europe to get his diploma as a sculptor in Munich. He then worked for twelve years as a drawing and handicraft teacher for the Pestalozzi Children's Village in Trogen . The book Der Knopf , a collection of children's drawings and texts on the subject of the button , was created for the International Year of the Child . A major concern of Blank was to encourage children and adults to bring their own ideas and feelings onto paper with colors.

Blank's works have been shown at numerous exhibitions at home and abroad. His works can be found in Santiago de Chile and Mexico City. Several of his works of art can also be found in the public space of Wil. Blank was a member of the GSMBA , the Chilean artist group and the Accademica Italia.

The first comprehensive retrospective for Blank was organized in 1984 by the Herisau casino company . In 1987 Blank exhibited his works in the old armory in Herisau. The local community of Wil maintains some of his works as part of its foundation. One of the goals is to make the work of the Wiler artist, including works made of bronze, wood and stone as well as various drawings, accessible to the public.

In 2006, Blank received the recognition award from the city of Wil. For Blank's 90th birthday, an exhibition was held in 2012 in the servants' chapel in the courtyard of Wil . Urban Blank has lived in Trogen since 1975.

Works (selection)

1955, fountain sculpture, Two Wrestling Boys by Urban Blank (* 1922), Alleeschulhaus, Wil, St.Gallen
Wrestling boys, 1955
  • The thirsty , fountain sculpture in Bruggen , 1948
  • Christopherus , wooden sculpture at the Wiler gate passage, 1950
  • Wrestling boys , fountain sculpture at the Alleeschulhaus in Wil, 1955
  • Bear group , granite boulder, wooden sculptures and mobiles for the Swiss school in Ñuñoa Santiago de Chile, 1958
  • Heidibrunnen , for the Swiss school in Ñuñoa Santiago de Chile, 1965
  • Death and the Maiden , sculpture, Wil Friedhof, 1977
  • The Children's Gate , wooden sculpture in Wil, 1977
  • Vita Parcours , sculpture in Rorschach, 1981
  • Sculpture Week in Brunnen , 1990

Publications (selection)

  • Urban Blank: The button. With work by students in Pestalozzidorf. Atlantis Verlag, 1981 ISBN 3-76110560-6
  • Urban Blank: Ways to draw, paint and read pictures (illustrated and commented by pupils in the Pestalozzi Children's Village in Trogen), Werdverlag, Zurich 1990.

literature

  • Eduard Plüss, Hans Christoph von Tavel: Artist Lexicon of Switzerland. XX. Century. Ed .: Association for the publication of the Swiss. Artist lexicons; Frauenfeld: Huber, 1958–1967, 2 vols.
  • Artist documentation of the Canton of St.Gallen. Ed .: Office for Cultural Maintenance of the Canton of St. Gallen, 1984

Web links

Commons : Urban Blank  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wilnet: Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Retrieved October 4, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Wilnet: Urban Blank. Retrieved October 4, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Wilnet: 1958 group of bears, for Scweizerschule, Osos para el Colegio Suizo. Retrieved October 4, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Wilnet: Pestalozzi Children. Retrieved October 4, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Urban Blank: 2012, exhibition. Retrieved October 4, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Blank, Urban
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss sculptor, painter, drawing and craft teacher and educator
DATE OF BIRTH April 12, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Wil , Canton of St. Gallen