FRANZ JOSEF ALTENBURG

Description

The publication of Franz Josef Altenburg: Clay and Form marks the occasion of the renowned Austrian ceramic artist’s 80th birthday and complements the exhibition of the same name at the Kaiservilla, Bad Ischl, as well as a presentation at the Musem of Applied Arts Vienna. Franz Josef Altenburg passed away shortly after the publication in August 2021. He was awarded the “Decoration of Honor in Gold of the Republic of Austria” in the same year for his unique work in ceramic art.

In his unique works Franz Josef Altenburg realized in clay the process of reduction and simplification that he had been pursuing systematically through-out his career. Combining the texture of the material with the order of his creations, the result is major series ranging from his Houses, Stairs, Pedestals, and Backdrops to his Blocks, Towers, Scaffolds, Containers, and Frames. With his expert mastery of handling and design techniques evident through out the six decades of his oeuvre, Altenburg elevated ceramics into the realm of fine art. 

This book documents and analyzes the artist, his work, and the site of his creativity in texts by art experts and a writer and offers for the very first time a comprehensive overview of his works, as well as an extensive illustrated biography with a list of exhibitions.

“Franz Josef Altenburg was and is a constant in the contemporary artistic life of our country. He has set standards with his art over decades: in the outstanding quality and consistency of his work, in the uniqueness of his formal language. Franz Josef Altenburg stands for a body of work of national and international significance and relevance.”

– Thomas Stelzer, Landeshauptmann