Walter Pichler (artist)

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Walter Pichler (born October 1, 1936 in Deutschnofen , South Tyrol ; † July 16, 2012 in Vienna ) was an Austrian sculptor , architect , draftsman , book designer and object artist .

Life

Pichler's property in St. Martin an der Raab
Pichler's property in St. Martin an der Raab

Walter Pichler's family left South Tyrol as part of the option . He studied at the arts and crafts school in Innsbruck . In 1955 he graduated from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Since the 1960s Pichler worked as an artist in the border area between sculpture and architecture . In 1960 there was a stay in Paris and in 1963 a trip to New York City and Mexico .

In 1963 he had his first exhibition, Architecture , together with Hans Hollein in the Galerie next St. Stephan in Vienna. Pichler created objects, sculptures and installations (partly also mobile) and initially dealt with architectural drafts for utopian city models and with plastic projects that deal with space and its individual perception. He devised visionary architectural concepts, for which he partly worked with Hans Hollein. Together in the 1960s they wanted to “free architecture from the constraints of building” and “free sculpture from the constraints of frozen abstraction”. Of his objects, the prototypes presented in 1967 or the portable TV helmet as a “portable living room” or the pneumatic sculpture Großer Raum are well known.

In 1967 he had an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, took part in the Biennale de Paris and in 1968 took part in the 4th documenta in Kassel with three of his prototypes and the fusion of spheres . He was also represented at documenta 6 in 1977.

In 1972 Pichler bought an old farm in Sankt Martin an der Raab in southern Burgenland, where he has lived and worked ever since. He spent more time here than in his studio in Vienna, where he created an ideal environment for his sculptures. In principle, these are not sold, but Pichler built their own houses for them. In addition to the residential building in St. Martin, the house for the trunk and the skullcap , the house for the wagons , the house for the large cross and the house for the two troughs were built . St. Martin is the ideal place for his sculptures, said Pichler, and was reluctant to send them to exhibitions on trips. Another peculiarity of this artist: he worked extremely slowly, sometimes took decades to complete a sculpture, made many sketches, precise drawings and plans, and built models. Time was an important material for him, on an equal footing with materials such as plastic, clay, wood and various metals such as lead, tin and zinc. Pichler attached great importance to the quality of craftsmanship and accuracy, and he repeatedly combined materials that are very difficult to combine.

Pichler earned his financial livelihood from selling sketches, plans and drawings on the one hand, and on the other hand he designed books for many years, first for Residenz Verlag and then for young and old . He almost always turned down teaching positions at universities and government awards. Exceptions were the Max Beckmann Prize of the City of Frankfurt am Main , which he received in 1987, and the Austrian State Prize.

On July 16, 2012, Pichler died of cancer at the age of 75. He was married to the architectural photographer Elfi Tripamer and had a daughter, Anna Tripamer.

Awards

Exhibitions (selection)

Literature and Sources

  • Exhibition catalog for the IV. Documenta: IV. Documenta. International exhibition ; Catalog: Volume 1: (Painting and Sculpture); Volume 2: (Graphics / Objects); Kassel 1968
  • Kimpel, Harald / Stengel, Karin: documenta IV 1968 International Exhibition - A photographic reconstruction. (Series of publications of the documenta archive); Bremen 2007, ISBN 978-3-86108-524-9
  • Walter Pichler - 111 drawings. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg 1973
  • Catalog for documenta 6: Volume 1: Painting, sculpture / environment, performance ; Volume 2: photography, film, video; Volume 3: Hand drawings, utopian design, books; Kassel 1977 ISBN 3-920453-00-X
  • Sculptures building projects. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg 1983
  • Photos. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg 1986
  • The turret. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg 1988
  • Drawings sculptures buildings. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg 1993
  • Walter Pichler: House next to the forge. Jung und Jung, Wenen (2002) ISBN 3-902144-33-5
  • Walter Pichler: sculpture architecture. Jung und Jung, Wenen (2005) ISBN 3-902497-00-9
  • Walter Pichler: It's head after all . Jung and Jung, Salzburg, Vienna, Innsbruck, Berlin 2007 ISBN 978-3-902497-31-4
  • Christian Reder: Researching ways of thinking. Essays on artistic work. (on Walter Pichler and others), graphic design: Walter Pichler, Edition Transfer at Springer Vienna New York 2004, ISBN 3-211-20523-3
  • Walter Pichler: Drawings , Contemporary Fine Arts / Snoeck Berlin 2013 (texts by Christian Reder, Stephanie Weber), ISBN 978-3-86442-065-8

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Schurian, Andrea: Walter Pichler died at derstandard.at, July 16, 2012 (accessed on July 16, 2012).
  2. ^ Austrian contemporary artists: works on paper; Collection Kermer Stuttgart . Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck, May 19 to June 13, 1987. [Foreword: Magdalena Hörmann; Catalog editing: Wolfgang Kermer ] Innsbruck: Galerie im Taxispalais, 1987, p. 28
personal data
SURNAME Pichler, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian sculptor, object and installation artist
DATE OF BIRTH October 1, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Nova Ponente , South Tyrol
DATE OF DEATH July 16, 2012
Place of death Vienna