Walter Köstenbauer

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Walter Köstenbauer

Walter Köstenbauer (born June 5, 1956 in Weiz , Styria ) is an Austrian painter , graphic artist , mixed media , photography , project , object and installation artist .

life and work

Origin and education

Walter Köstenbauer was born in Weiz in 1956. After graduating from the Bundesgymnasium Weiz in 1974, he studied from 1974 to 1979 in the master class of Wolfgang Hollegha at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna . He has lived in Graz since 1981 .

Artistic career

The Stone Age"

For more than ten years rock and stone determine Walter Köstenbauer's painting. In his works (mostly mixed media on paper), he concentrates less on depicting and more on interpreting and interpreting these "silent witnesses" that exist beyond the human sense of time. Topic quotes from religion, mythology, literature and science are the driving forces behind his work, which moves in an interesting field of tension between naturalism and abstraction. He received more inspiration and motivation than during the academy years from the many artist acquaintances, which were made possible from 1987 through the friendly contact with Maria and Thomas Mark (“Galerie artmark”). During these years he also made a lasting friendship with Hannes Schwarz , his former art teacher at the federal high school in Weiz. Its recognized artistic and (art) philosophical quality influenced Köstenbauer's work in theory and practice in the late 1980s.

New ways

In the summer of 1994, Köstenbauer “freed” himself from the pressure he wanted to deal with. “End of the Stone Age” is the programmatic title of an exhibition in the cloister of the monastery in Frohnleiten near Graz. Two years of searching and experimenting follow. The use of objects found by chance ( objet trouvé ) can be recognized as a common denominator at that time.

In 1996 Köstenbauer undertook a three-month study trip through Australia and received important impulses for his work from the colors and physical characteristics of the dry, wide landscapes in the interior of the country. He is (to this day) particularly interested in the culture of the Aborigines , in particular with their artistic work. The artist worked on these experiences over the next two years.

Over time, the intense memories of Australia weaken and the image content loses meaning. From 1998 the compositions became independent and “pure” painting became the focus. In his works (mainly oil on linen) the painter concentrates exclusively on the interplay of colors and rhythms, on the development of abstract forms and the net-like overlaying and breaking up of structures.

Installations, objects, long-term projects, concepts

In the next few years, three-dimensional and conceptual works are also increasingly being created. Objects and temporary projects stand alongside painting on an equal footing. The long-term projects “Errettung des Tafelbildes” (since 1995) and “ent.tarnung.mensch” (since 2002) have grown into comprehensive groups of works. With ironic variations on the “eternal problem” of Magritte's pipe representations, the artist won the East Styrian sculpture competition “Laughter in Art” in 2006.

2007 realized Köstenbauer his long-held idea of "Buenos Dias" (a humorous allusion to the requisite raw material), "Buenos Dias", which are so manually manipulated by melting, etching, scratching, scraping, staining slides that have been digitized in a row , printed in the smallest edition (maximum 5 pieces) on photo linen and stretched on a stretcher frame .

In the same year, socially critical miniatures were created , which were then shown in 2008 at the 9th “International Biennal of Miniature Art” in the “Modern Gallery of the Cultural Center” in Gornji Milanovac / Serbia . Köstenbauer's accompanying one-hour action working.class.hero (based on the song of the same name by John Lennon ) during the opening will be documented on site by the Russian media artist and put on the Internet as an 8-minute video on YouTube.

Graphics, painting

After an increased focus on temporary projects in public space, painting and graphics have regained priority in Walter Köstenbauer's work since 2012. Invitations to international art symposia in Slovenia and Italy help to intensify this development. In 2013, at the “Minimalia 2” competition in Umbria, in which artists from 10 nations took part, he was awarded one of the 3 main prizes for his submission. In many of the pictures one can sense the artist's intense and years-long examination of the material stone, so that a wide circle is now beginning to close.

Since 2016

On the occasion of his 60th birthday, Köstenbauer is presenting a “ trilogy ” consisting of three exhibitions with different concepts simultaneously at three different locations - in the Hofgalerie in Graz, in the Kunsthaus in Weiz and in the MiR Museum in Gleisdorf . The Kleine Zeitung presents the multi artistes for this reason on March 31, 2016 as "Styrian of the Day". At the same time, the comprehensive catalog "Walter Köstenbauer - Rough Guide to 30 Years of Artwork" will be published with articles by Otto Breicha , Erwin Fiala, Roman Grabner, Hermann Glettler , Wilhelm Hengstler , Kurt Herler and others.

In June 2017, Köstenbauer brought together 14 artists from Amsterdam , Berlin , Vienna and Graz for a joint show in the ORF- Styria-Funkhausgalerie. Despite the different life paths and working methods, all those involved were once pupils of Walter Köstenbauer at the Academic Gymnasium Graz , where he taught until 2018 (since 1996 only part-time). Also present: Clara Maria Bacher, Leonie Bramberger, Wilfried Gerstel. Gerald Hartwig, ILA (Köstenbauer's student in Leoben in his early years), Gerda Jaritz, Franz Konrad, Clemens Luser , Constantin Luser , Barbara Philipp, Lisa Pock, Andrea Ressi, Julia Seiler and Philipp Wegan. The exhibition with the title “Unterwegs - die Second” is also the prelude to the 444th anniversary year of the Academic Gymnasium Graz. Reviews of this can be found in the Styrian edition of the Kronen Zeitung from July 15, 2017, in the cultural magazine 80 and in the Kleine Zeitung from August 6, 2017, with Walter Titz referring to the art educator Köstenbauer as “art advisor”. From September 8 to October 14, 2017, Köstenbauer's works are part of the anniversary exhibition 30 years of artmark by the renowned Viennese art gallery artmark galerie .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Up-to-date digital business card from Walter Köstenbauer on the Graz culture server at Kultur.graz.at
  2. ↑ Page about Walter Köstenbauer on www.galeriecentrum.net
  3. ↑ working.class.hero . A Performance by Walter Köstenbauer on Youtube
  4. ↑ Page Working Class Hero on en.wikipedia.org
  5. ↑ Page about the Minimalia on www.eventiesagre.it
  6. ↑ Styrian of the day: exhibition trilogy for the 60th birthday , kleinezeitung.at from March 31, 2016, accessed on May 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ Walter Köstenbauer: Rough Guide to 30 YEARS OF ARTWORK ( Memento from September 10, 2017 in the Internet Archive ).
  8. ↑ “Unterwegs - die second” in the Funkhaus , steiermark.orf.at from June 4, 2017, accessed on August 6, 2017.
  9. ^ "15 Styrian artist positions in the ORF-Funkhausgalerie: Unterwegs - die zwei " , Achtzig.com, accessed on September 9, 2017.
  10. ↑ Walter Titz : "About the art of art approval" , Kleine Zeitung of August 6, 2017, p. 62.
  11. ↑ 30 years of artmark , artmark-galerie.at, accessed on September 9, 2017.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Köstenbauer, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian artist, painter and graphic artist
DATE OF BIRTH 5th June 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Wheat