Kristian Fenzl Painter_Designer _Researcher

Kristian Fenzl_Artist_Designer_ResearcherDeutsche Version

text english

Paraiso

Landscapes

Galerien

Contact

text english
Bernhad BartaThe Erotic aspect of Fenzl´s workKristian Fenzl is a human eye. Not only because he is a son of an upper austrian optometrist. The painter, professor of the university of art, devoted his work to the topic of landscapes and enjoyed it to the fullest. From mediterrenean to ice-cold blue colors. Leading to complete abstraction. Paraiso, the latest series indeed is a distinct break in his evolution. To his landscapes Fenzl now assigns very definite body landscapes. It´s still exciting. Continue ...Norbert MinkendorferArtist Designer ResearcherIn 1984, together with the ethnologist, Fritz Trupp, and the social psychologist, Norbert Minkendorfer, Kristian Fenzl founded the interdisciplinary Institute for Ethno-Design. In co-operation with artists, architects and social researchers, this studies the artistic statements and forms, which flow into the design process of various ethnic groups. Continue ...Bernhard BartaPainter and CosmopolitanThe sun sinks into the sea. An image from a picture-book. A painter bends over an 8 m2-canvas and covers it with paint. He pauses and appears to reflect on the results. In the evening sunshine of Majorca. Then paint is spread again. Carefully and with complete concentration. Professor Kristian Fenzl is a globe-trotter. A painter, who feels equally at home in galleries in Vienna and elsewhere around the world, whether they be in New York - New Century Artists, Kyoto - Galerie am Goethe Institut, or Palma di Majorca - Empire Art Galeria. The island has become Fenzls second home and where he has a studio. Continue ...Kristian FenzlPioneering work in the field of Design Following the completion of my formal education, I worked as a freelance artist on an autodidactic basis. Immediately after my subsequent studies at the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts, I attended Stellenbosch University in South Africa on a postgraduate scholarship. During my time as a student, I had already travelled through many countries outside Europe in a somewhat adventurous manner and therefore had no special fears with regard to contacts with exotic cultures. I had dedicated my college diploma to the topic of Spectacles and Object Images and therefore it was logical to continue to concern myself with this topic in the course of my postgraduate studies. Continue ...Albert HolzbauerCameroon and the passion belonging to Kristian FenzlKristian Fenzl is an extremely rational person. And rationalism has been explored in excellent fashion by Marxist-Leninist sociology. Nonetheless, in what proved to be its final edition, the respected East German lexicon of Human Sexology published by Aresin et al. in East Berlin in 1990, also describes the term passion. This is defined as being a powerful wave of feelings in connection with a matter, situation, or person, which is characterised by the quality of the desire and the wish for possession. Continue ...
No Frame

Paraiso

triptychon_6.jpg
Diptych
triptychon_5.jpg
triptychon_7.jpg
triptychon_4.jpg
diptychon_4.jpg
Diptych
diptychon_9.jpg
diptychon_8.jpg
diptychon_7.jpg
diptychon_6.jpg
triptychon_3.jpg
diptychon_1.jpg
triptychon_2.jpg
diptychon_3.jpg
triptychon_1.jpg

triptychon_6.jpg
Diptych
triptychon_5.jpg
triptychon_7.jpg
triptychon_4.jpg
diptychon_4.jpg
Diptych
diptychon_9.jpg
diptychon_8.jpg
diptychon_7.jpg
diptychon_6.jpg
triptychon_3.jpg
diptychon_1.jpg
triptychon_2.jpg
diptychon_3.jpg
triptychon_1.jpg

Landscapes

Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes

Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes

Galerien

Vienna (Austria)
Vienna (Austria)
Mallorca (Spain)
Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Linz (Austria)
Gmunden (Austria)
Kyoto (Japan)
New York (USA)
Mallorca (Spain)
Schörfling (Austria)
Schörfling (Austria)
Bruessels (Belgium)
Windach (Germany)
Garsten (Austria)
Weimar (Germany)
Galerie Empire Art (Spain)
Weimar (Germany)
Griesskirchen (Austria)
Griesskirchen (Austria)
Galerie Estacio (Spain)
Schloss Lamberg

complete list ...

Vienna (Austria)
Vienna (Austria)
Mallorca (Spain)
Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Linz (Austria)
Gmunden (Austria)
Kyoto (Japan)
New York (USA)
Mallorca (Spain)
Schörfling (Austria)
Schörfling (Austria)
Bruessels (Belgium)
Windach (Germany)
Garsten (Austria)
Weimar (Germany)
Galerie Empire Art (Spain)
Weimar (Germany)
Griesskirchen (Austria)
Griesskirchen (Austria)
Galerie Estacio (Spain)
Schloss Lamberg

Contact

Kristian Fenzl

ATELIER/STUDIO LINZ

Tabergerweg 2

4020 Linz, Austria

ATELIER/STUDIO WIEN

Schmidgasse 15/4

1080 Wien, Austria

ATELIER/STUDIO MALLORCA

Carrer d.Castellet 24

Cala Llombarts

Majorca, Spain

Mobile: +43(0)664 - 32 53 903

Tel/Fax: +43(0)732 - 22 13 75

E-Mail: kristian_fenzl.at

Die Urheber- und Nutzungsrechte (Copyright) für Texte, Grafiken, Bilder, Design und Quellcode liegen bei Kristian Fenzl. Die Erstellung, Verwendung und Weitergabe von Kopien in elektronischer und ausgedruckter Form bedarf einer Genehmigung.

Paraiso text engl
The Erotic aspect of Fenzl´s workKristian Fenzl is a human eye. Not only because he is a son of an upper austrian optometrist. The painter, professor of the university of art, devoted his work to the topic of landscapes and enjoyed it to the fullest. From mediterrenean to ice-cold blue colors. Leading to complete abstraction. Paraiso, the latest series indeed is a distinct break in his evolution. To his landscapes Fenzl now assigns very definite body landscapes. It´s still exciting.Since ever artistic minds get alive by erotic fantasies. According to early-aged figures in anthropological context of fertility cults the viewing of nudity in antiquity is reduced to the mythological sphere. Not until Renaissance and the rediscovering of the human body are de-myth the erotic form, which climaxes in the Rokoko age in the 18th century.In contemporary trends this development even increases. Today you have to speak of pornographication of art, even more of the sexual overkill in society and art. Right here Kristian Fenzls contemplation is placed.Artistic methodologyThe choice of the template pictures for Paraiso doesn´t follow a mandatory principle. Kristian Fenzl enlarges contemporary images of women and transfers them to canvas by b/w-print. The photos used are out of the fund of anonymous erotically picture databases. By digital image manipulation of the artefacts and by analog painting over them Fenzl attains vagueness. He associates the repainted figures with landscapes of past years. These Di- and Triptych are coated with a monochrome haze. The multiple layers of white and pink colored makes cause irritation and painting ambivalence.White symbolizes the immaculate view of the veiled woman, works with pink colored haze signify fort he incarnation, for the rokoko´s principle of lust. But the bodies, seeming like paradise are hiding your access. From anonymous objects of lust women just convert to precious items, kept hidden for the viewer. Kristian Fenzl so evokes the voyeuristic view, he also defuses it in subtle way. His tools are coatings. Dissolved finely these are squirted out of a can, and again applied in threads and meticulous color patterns. Fenzl lets colors flow into each other in trickles, mixes them up to amorphous blobs. Essential is the free gesture.For AdoptionSimilar to other painters of his generation Kristian Fenzl is part of a context of the international evolution. The list of ones, who deal with nudity against the background of the dissolution of erotic boundaries or the pornographication of the society is long. It ranges from the late protagonist of Pop Art, Mel Ramos to the grandmaster of shock, Jeff Koons. In his cycle Naked through the Centuries (2003) Arnulf Rainer also delightfully makes use of eroticism. In contrast to this Fenzl in Paraiso does not quote any historic context. He is neither interested in psychologizing illustration of states of mind.The new Series of Kristian Fenzl now even more relates to the work of Gerhard Richter, who repeats his method of painting over for decades. Richter´s photorealistic depicts in particular in sea landscapes show a manifest reference to the age of german romantic. But Fenzl´s interest now is not even more on landscapes, which he paints over and puts aside the body portraits with artistic impetus. So Paraiso´s female protagonists neither follow a plot nor a topos. They seem without a context to us. Essence of Fenzl´s Œvre stays the projection of desires. The quest for an ideal landscape was followed by a revealing of the today´s society in it´s striving for the ideal of eternal youth. Painter and spectator also can addict to this Ideal. And to catch oneself, dealing guilty with sexual topics in a bigoted societyBernhard BartaMag. Dr., Studium der Kunstgeschichte und Kunstpädagogik in Salzburg und Linz. Mehrere Jahre tätig für das Kunst Haus Wien und das Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz. Seit 2003 freier Autor, Kurator und Kunstjournalist. Mitglied des Kuratorenteams der Oberösterreichischen Landesausstellung Salzkammergut 2008. Zahlreiche Publikationen, u.a. Das Malschiff Österreichische Künstlerkreise der Zwischenkriegszeit (2007), sowie Künstler & Kaiser im Salzkammergut (2008) und Linz Panorama der Kulturhauptstadt (2009) im Christian Brandstätter Verlag.back
kristian_home

Minkendorfer english
Artist Designer Researcher In 1984, together with the ethnologist, Fritz Trupp, and the social psychologist, Norbert Minkendorfer, Kristian Fenzl founded the interdisciplinary Institute for Ethno-Design. In co-operation with artists, architects and social researchers, this studies the artistic statements and forms, which flow into the design process of various ethnic groups. The rapid changes to passed-on traditions are described by Fritz Trupp, who serves as an ethnologist in the Institute for Ethno-Designs interdisciplinary team, as follows: In the course of major economic and social upheavals, many ethnic groups have sacrificed their traditions. The degree to which traditional systems of values alter is mirrored to an equal extent by the artistic statements of these peoples. Therefore, original tribal art is frequently subject to dissolution and the emergence of new forms of artistic creativity. Now, production no longer, or not only, takes place for the local market (household items, architecture, ritual objects), but also for an external one (tourist art). It is interesting to observe that these new artistic statements do not necessarily mean that traditional creativity is lost. This fact is exemplified by the manner in which the Herero from Botswana continue to erect their huts in their original style, but using empty beer cans, or the toy cars made by the children from shoe polish tins, old tent pegs and wire. The starting-point for Kristian Fenzls study trips was quasi his scholarship to the Stellenbosch University in South Africa, which he undertook following the completion of his studies. Moreover, during the 1970s, as an artist and designer he carried out research in the course of numerous journeys to North and Central America, India and the Near East. However, Kristian Fenzl is not a specialist within a limited area, but rather a cosmopolitan both with regard to the arts and his approach to life, which derived from his upbringing. His father, the Steyr optician, Alfred Fenzl, was already recognised in the 1950s as a researcher and collector of non-European art and for example, had accompanied the documentary film-maker, Leni Riefenstahl, as a photographer during her first trip to Black Africa. In addition, an uncle in Tunisia, who was an agricultural specialist, and an uncle in Brazil, who was a construction engineer, were the object of frequent visits and an influence on his youth and development. Surrounded by curiosities and affected by ethnic art, Kristian began to paint and also demonstrated an exceptional talent for design. In the 1980s, shared study trips with the co-founders of the Institute for Ethno-Design resulted in exhibition projects involving the art of the Dogon and the Makonde and other African tribes. One of many study projects involved a research expedition in teamwork with the Vienna Anthropological Museum (Völkerkundemuseum) and the University of Vienna (Prof. Dr. Armand Duchateau) to Irian Jaya (West Papua New Guinea). In addition to Kristian Fenzl, Helmut Gsöllpointer (professor at the University of Art and Design Linz) and the ethnologist, Fritz Trupp, participated in this exhibition, which via waterways led into this otherwise impenetrable jungle region. In territorial terms, this area consists of a huge, swampy labyrinth of rivers and a mangrove coast with a length of at least 200 kilometres. One special feature is that the rivers have a reversed flow, as the tides have an effect that extends for up to 100 kilometres inland. The Asmat, an indigenous population group, who have no form of calligraphy, inhabits the region, which is roughly the same size as Belgium. The bulk of the Asmat collection in the Schmiding Museum in Upper Austria was obtained during this expedition and some rare objects went to the Anthropological Museum in Vienna. Everyday objects in the public domain and aesthetic needs in daily life constitute an interesting area for field observations in differing countries. The demands made on routine objects vary greatly and possess national specificity. In Western Europe, uniform, contemporary design in the public area is esteemed. Telephone boxes, waste bin and street lighting are largely produced using standardised, modern styling. By contrast, the Brazilians demonstrate great imagination with regard to the design of their telephone boxes in the Amazon region. In the city of Belem, they can be admired in the shape of a natural mussel (while elsewhere they assume the form of simple plates), or they are designed as colourful parrots, which offer shelter against the frequent tropical downpours. Conversely, in China such profane objects as waste bins are matched to the house where they stand. Each bin receives a separate design, irrespective of whether it is facing a pagoda, or positioned in front of the Great Wall. While in our concept of China, the idea of the uniformity of the people and a standardised look predominates, on a small-scale a wealth of designs and colours flourishes. The Chinese favour bright shades and striking designs with regard to childrens clothing and this individuality is projected onto the wearers. In 1996 and 1997, the Neue Galerie of the city of Linz was the venue for an extensive, documentary exhibition regarding the art and culture of the Makonde tribe of southern Africa. The Makonde live on both sides of the Ruvuma River, on the border between Mozambique and Tanzania and loans from the Maputo National Museum in Mozambique and exhibits from the Livingstone Museum in Zambia supplemented the expedition. However, for Kristian Fenzl contemporary art was also a constant concern and a source of inspiration. In 1987, he purchased a historical, industrial object in Steyr and for almost 15 years, one exhibition followed another, from ethnic art, to one-man shows by Christian L. Attersee, Peter Sengl, and Hans Staudacher, to mention but a few well-known names. Kristian Fenzl has always been a restless, inquisitive and creative person and, as his many exhibitions both in Austria and other countries demonstrate, has achieved increasing self-fulfilment in abstract painting. Just as at the end of their research many natural scientists arrive at philosophy, in his creativity, Kristian Fenzl has travelled from design and the concrete to the fine arts. Form follows function is a key design maxim, in which design follows the dictates of the practical. Through painting, Kristian has opened a door that has freed him from any restrictions upon his creativeness and has revealed the way to endless vistas of opportunity. In the final analysis artists, writers and philosophers never retire.Kristian Fenzls artistic focus is on colour. A style that Andreas Strohammer from the Lentos Museum and the curator of a large 2006 show of Kristians paintings, Landscapes in the Linzer City Museum, described as: A Fenzl festival of colours. Kristian Fenzls paintings communicate images of mood and joie de vivre, which are absorbed and thus influence every visitor to his exhibitions.back

Amazonas 1988
Irian Jaya of New Guinea 1984
Irian Jaya of New Guinea 1984

Fenzl english
Pioneering work in the field of Design Following the completion of my formal education, I worked as a freelance artist on an autodidactic basis. Immediately after my subsequent studies at the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts, I attended Stellenbosch University in South Africa on a postgraduate scholarship. During my time as a student, I had already travelled through many countries outside Europe in a somewhat adventurous manner and therefore had no special fears with regard to contacts with exotic cultures. I had dedicated my college diploma to the topic of Spectacles and Object Images and therefore it was logical to continue to concern myself with this topic in the course of my postgraduate studies. The focus of this discourse related to the functional, ergonomic and socio-cultural factors relating to spectacles for African ethnic groups. In 1975, I was awarded a lectureship at what was then the College of Art and Industrial Design in Linz and in 1976 was appointed as an assistant lecturer. From then on I concerned myself intensively with the topic of design. I received one of my first large commissions, the redesign of VOEST road rollers, thanks to my then superior and friend, Helmut Gsöllpointner. Up to this point in time (1976) the procedure relating to capital goods design projects was dominated by the so-called technical-functional prerequisites determined by engineers and basically, the involvement of a designer was an unusual occurrence. The main priority was the problem-free provision of all the required technical features. In such cases, all that was awaited from the designer was the beautification of the external appearance of the equipment in the sense of American, marketing-oriented STYLING. Design as a functional sculptureHowever, as the road roller was to be totally redesigned from a technical standpoint, we had an opportunity to work on it from the outset and in every area. For the first time, we were able to draw up our own BRIEFING, which meant the preparation of basic research from our viewpoint. We, the social psychologist Norbert Minkendorfer and myself, not only analysed the actual situation with regard to technical and ergonomic advantages and disadvantages (VOEST products and those of the competition), but also, and I believe this was a new development in capital goods product development, carried out genuine FIELD RESEARCH! These preparations resulted in a number of differing preliminary designs, which not only demonstrated the basic technical function in a variety of ways, but also presented the road roller itself as an artistic object, in the form of a functional sculpture. These designs were shown to the road roller drivers and a wealth of topics discussed. We also drove road rollers ourselves and questioned every detail. On the basis of the insights thus gained, a questionnaire was drawn up, which was to be used for the clarification of the main issues by the relevant target groups. The latter not only included buyers from diverse construction companies, but also the users, i.e. the site foremen and the drivers themselves. In these questionnaires not only did existing products (as in standard marketing surveys) serve as a comparative yardstick, but also our new concepts, which had emanated from the suggestions received and discussions. These were supplemented by potential TARGET versions in the form of three-dimensional drawings and a variety of technical questions regarding new solutions. Following the evaluation of the questionnaires, we had a theoretical TARGET variation, consisting of a conglomerate composed of differing approaches, which we then had to translate into a practical form. With the help of engineers, our task was to create a humane working environment, which would provide an optimum blend of cost-efficiency and carefully considered ergonomics and not merely offer technical and material functionality, but also serve as a means of communication, possess symbolic character and do justice to aesthetic (artistic) considerations.In the spring of 1979, following articles about the VOEST road roller in all the most important specialist publications, the fire-fighting technology company, Rosenbauer, commissioned me to work on a completely new concept for its airport rescue and fire-fighting vehicles (ARFFs).The ROTE HAHN the worlds largest fire industry fair, which is held in Hanover every five years, was eighteen months away and with the so-called SIMBA project, Rosenbauers new CEO, Julian Wagner wanted to set a new benchmark, irrespective of the costs. In line with our proven model, we started work by determining the ACTUAL situation and defining in value analysis terms every function according to its priority and in accordance with its practical, main and ancillary technical purposes, aesthetic and symbolic functions. New and previously unattained possibilities, some off which had a utopian aura, for functional (radical shortening of operational times and enhanced effectiveness) and semantic improvements (identification of the then quasi paramilitary vehicle crew) were again included in the questionnaire in the form of three-dimensional presentations and specific technical variations (one has to realise that at this point in time, ARFF vehicles resembled red-painted milk trucks with a manually operated monitor mounted on the roof!). The questionnaire was sent to the worlds most important airports and we received a high percentage of replies with interesting and positive suggestions. As was the case with the VOEST road roller project, a large number of technical innovations and patents resulted, such as the remote control of the monitor from the cabin. Moreover, response times were sharply reduced without a major increase in the engine capacity required for drives and pumps. In spite of the radical and unusual nature of its design language, the SIMBA quickly became the worlds biggest selling ARFF. Another important milestone was the design project for extruders, downstream extrusion equipment and injection moulding machines for the American company, Cincinnati Milacron, in 1981/82. Our experience with increasingly perfect basic research procedures and functional analyses up to project realisation was naturally highly beneficial and during this assignment, we also tried to remain true to our basic principles and not only improve relevant technical functions such as ergonomics and service-friendliness, but also to express the hidden, technical quality through the external image. At the beginning of the 1980s, one project followed another and my achievements were rewarded with a professorship in 1983. I worked on various projects for the fire industry specialist, Rosenbauer, for over 30 years and I am delighted that in the course of time, this company, which originally was one of many players, has now become the global number ONE in its market. In addition, other Austrian companies such as the worlds most important producer of injection moulding machines, Engel in Schwertberg and Fronius in Wels, which manufactures the worlds best welding equipment, and many more besides, have understood that in the course of the design process, not only are purely technical or ergonomic functions improved, but also cost reductions can frequently be achieved. A plethora of other functions can also been fulfilled, which take effect via aesthetic, semantic and symbolic channels. Moreover, GOOD DESIGN does not merely enhance the corporate image and product quality. It also furnishes the user with an increased sense of self-esteem and communicates greater identification with the work in hand and the place of employment.Kristian Fenzl, 2000

Cover "form"
Industrial Design
Exhibition design
Exhibition design

Barta english
IntroductionThe sun sinks into the sea. An image from a picture-book. A painter bends over an 8 m2-canvas and covers it with paint. He pauses and appears to reflect on the results. In the evening sunshine of Majorca. Then paint is spread again. Carefully and with complete concentration. Professor Kristian Fenzl is a globetrotter. A painter, who feels equally at home in galleries in Vienna and elsewhere around the world, whether they be in New York - New Century Artists, Kyoto - Galerie am Goethe Institut, or Palma di Majorca - Empire Art Galeria. The island has become Fenzls second home and where he has a studio. The respected gallery last showed two-dozen canvases in what was both an artistic and social event in the heart of the Majorcan capital. Kristian Fenzls workload fills his calendar, in step with restless expansion of the scope of his activities. As a painter. And as a designer of products and spaces. Work that has already filled literary volumes. Artistic developmentKristian Fenzl (born 1946 in Wels, Austria) has always drawn and painted. His family home in Steyr was shaped by parents with an interest in the arts. Alfred Fenzl was a collector of African tribal artefacts, consisting largely of masks, fetishes and trophies. He photographed peoples from remote civilizations and quasi as a secondary occupation ran a specialist opticians business. The cosmopolitan film director, Leni Riefenstahl, wrote to him that: I am now equipped like a super photographer, but I cant take pictures with this gear. Riefenstahl took advice from the photographer and optician: She was able to take days off to give me photographic teaching, and Alfred Fenzl worked with her on the documentation of the Nuba tribe of Sudan. In the meantime, Kristian Fenzl gathered inspiration in his fathers first floor studio full of terrariums, scrabbling baby crocodiles, totems and hunting trophies. Indeed, it was in these exotic cultural surroundings that Kristians first drawings emerged. After grammar school and advanced technical college in Steyr, Kristian Fenzl became an art student and in 1967, shone at the Salzburg Summer Academy, which was still under the influence of its founder, Oskar Kokoschka. In both 1967 and 1968, Kristian Fenzl was awarded the Honorary Prize of the City of Salzburg. Subsequently, Kristian studied at the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts (which later became an art college and today is a university). He attended the painting classes of Professor Herbert Tasquil and Professor Franz Hagenauers metalworking course. His student work was impressive in its extravagance. During his time in Vienna, Kristian Fenzl experienced the blossoming of Actionism at first hand, the informal having already surfaced in Austria during the preceding decade. In the 1950s, protagonists such as Hans Staudacher, Arnulf Rainer and Maria Lassnig had returned from Paris with Tachism and Art Brut in their luggage. And with painting in order to leave painting behind, Arnulf Rainer had postulated upon fresh approaches. The artistic ambitions of the young student Fenzl also underwent a change. Surrealistic dream images with abstract tendencies were transformed into complete non-representationalism. However, the canvas and watercolour block remained indispensable to the universal designer. Anyone who knows the stringency of Fenzls design drawings, must also notice the contrasting degree of impulsive freedom of which he is capable. The 1980s and 1990s brought commissions and awards with Fenzl road rollers for VOEST-Alpine, fire-fighting vehicles for Rosenbauer and extruders for Cincinnati Milacron. Austrian National Prizes, top international awards, professorships in Belem (Brazil) and Linz (Austria), honorary doctorates And all the time, Fenzls painting was involved in a fruitful dialogue with his product design. Concerning paintingThe motivation for Fenzl to paint is provided by a pure sense of pleasure. This is manifested in the act of painting itself, in the freedom of gesture and the predominance of colour. In the meantime, Kristian Fenzl savours a singular tonality that is both brilliant and rich in nuances. Then again, two or three basic shades are finely weighed. In large formats, the painter likes to demonstrate a complete intoxication with colour. The image field is clearly defined and frequently arranged to form a di- or triptych. Fenzls pictures are never hermetic in nature. In the mind of the viewer, they suggest continuation and connotations. One feels surrounded by picturesque cliffs and earthy gorges, arctic ice fields or airy skies. Landscape-like fragments predominate the imagery. But instead of lending them concrete form, the painter merely approaches the landscape, far removed from any naturalistic representation. As already mentioned, the free gesture is of major importance to the artist. Paints constitute Fenzls tools. Finely thinned they are splashed on directly from the tin, or are applied thickly with a pallet knife to form virtual crusts. Alternatively they are laid down in strands to form meticulous carpets of colour. The densification of the painting surface occurs in almost autonomous fashion. Fenzl allows differing rivulets of colours to merge, or mixes them to create amorphous splashes. This is an artistic technique already used by the American action painters (Jackson Pollock, Sam Francis) and the German (Emil Schuhmacher) and French (Georges Mathieu) informal artists. However, as opposed to the classic works of the informal movement, which were partly produced in front of an audience, Fenzl paints in private far removed from the public eye and using the inspiration of places he loves. Majorca, South America, Vienna, the Pöstlingberg in LinzFenzl is therefore a painter working between the impressions of nature and abstraction. An artist, who finds inspiration in landscape and combines it with impetus and intuition. A hedonist, in the sense of antiquity, who savours the act of creation to the full. As demonstrated by his pictures. Bernhard Barta, 2009Bernhard BartaMag. Dr., Studium der Kunstgeschichte und Kunstpädagogik in Salzburg und Linz. Mehrere Jahre tätig für das Kunst Haus Wien und das Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz. Seit 2003 freier Autor, Kurator und Kunstjournalist. Mitglied des Kuratorenteams der Oberösterreichischen Landesausstellung Salzkammergut 2008. Zahlreiche Publikationen, u.a. Das Malschiff Österreichische Künstlerkreise der Zwischenkriegszeit (2007), sowie Künstler & Kaiser im Salzkammergut (2008) und Linz Panorama der Kulturhauptstadt (2009) im Christian Brandstätter Verlag.back
kristian_home

Holzbauer english
Cameroon and the passion belonging to Kristian FenzlKristian Fenzl is an extremely rational person. And rationalism has been explored in excellent fashion by Marxist-Leninist sociology. Nonetheless, in what proved to be its final edition, the respected East German lexicon of Human Sexology published by Aresin et al. in East Berlin in 1990, also describes the term passion. This is defined as being a powerful wave of feelings in connection with a matter, situation, or person, which is characterised by the quality of the desire and the wish for possession. In Christian Fenzls case, this emotion arose to a greater extent than on any other of our trips during our journey to Cameroon and came about in the following manner. Following a visit to the Dogons in Mali during 1983, the main focus of which was on ethno-psychoanalysis, there followed the expedition to Cameroon in June 1984, which had the little people of the Bagyeli pygmy tribe as its centre of interest. During this trip, Kristian Fenzl was initially on a high that was unfortunately followed by an extreme low. We established our headquarters in an old hotel, which had originally been a meeting-place for ivory smugglers on the beach in Kribi, and in the same night Kristian plunged into the waves, delivering himself up to the elements in as state of virtual ecstasy, to be swept up by the swell, towering several metres above our heads, which reduced us to the status of little people. During the following days, after a hair-raising river journey and a lengthy march along jungle trails, we actually managed to reach the pygmies. Kristian Fenzl succeeded in taking numerous photos, which included images of astounding natural whims that included homoscapes of men with twelve fingers, double rows of teeth and elephantine feet. However, his interest was not only focused on these anthropomorphological mutations and he wished to take pictures of other subjects. Following the Congo Conference of Berlin, from July 14, 1884 to March 4, 1916, Cameroon was a German colony and during this period impressive colonial buildings were erected. Two of the best preserved of these were to be found in Kribi and naturally these magnificent edifices aroused a passion in Kristian Fenzl, namely the passion of the artist. Accordingly, once again photos were taken until quite suddenly, we were surrounded by soldiers, who appeared out of nothing like the Jengi spirits of the pygmies. Initially, we were threatened with sub-machine guns and then bundled into a darkened car and whisked away. We then brought before the provincial governor, whose Chinese military advisor accused us of being terrorist mercenaries. Unfortunately, only two days previously, a failed attempt had been made to blow up the colonial villa, which was the current home of the governor, along with his wife and numerous children. This was the villa that Kristian Fenzl had photographed. The times were politically unstable. Paul Bija had followed Ahmadou Ahidjo as the state president and disputes had broken out within the single political party, the Union Nationale Camerounaise (UNC), which had led to an attempted coup détat on April 6, 1984. This was suppressed with much bloodshed and 190 executions followed in its wake. And now, just two months later came our terrorist plot against the family of the provincial governor, a follower of Paul Bijas, the first step in which had involved spying on the villa. Moreover, the Chinese military advisor simply did not believe the explanation provided by Kristian Fenzl during his interrogation for his love of photography, that he was an artist, a professor at an art college and purely interested and active in the arts. Our clothing, which consisted of the military fatigues generally worn on safari at that time, offered an insoluble contradiction to the word of the art college professor. We saw ourselves as lost, locked up at an unknown location and awaiting condemnation. The only thing that had saved us from our dreaded fate was the concluding question during the interrogation, which had been posed by the governor, who until then had been angrily silent. He asked if we possessed diplomatic status, a formal question, which had apparently remained in his memory from his clearly extensive training in France. Following our production of a Red Cross identity card (Carte d identité Croix-Rouge Autrichienne) bearing the note, Nous prions toutes les autorités civiles et militaires ... toute protection, I alleged that this provided us with legal guarantees under international law, the Red Cross and the United Nations and also verified the correctness of the statement that Kristian Fenzl was an important artist!Therefore, as Kristian Fenzl was an important artist, the provincial governor now followed diplomatic protocol. We were politely invited to participate in a lecture specially arranged for us concerning Cameroons laws in relation to permissible and non-permissible photography. Kristian Fenzl was also similarly requested to hand over the all his pictures, including those he had taken of the pygmies. They were quickly gone, as we were after this pedagogic event. However, as is always the case with passion born of desire, the shock had barely subsided before the urge returned with renewed strength. Once again Kristian Fenzl needed photos. The fact that new images were actually obtained came about as follows. Kristian Fenzl discovered an elderly photographer by the name of Monsieur Paul, who had attended the German colonial school, had recollections of the German language and following rapid negotiations, was willing to exchange his pictures for photographic material. His photos captured 50 years of local history, covering weddings, celebrations, accidents, executions and for the artist of special interest, fearful deformities and beautiful portraits of women with unbelievable hairstyles. This was a collection that surpassed even that of the Colonial Museum in Amsterdam and Kristian Fenzl now had a treasure trove of images, not one of which would be seen by his friends in Linz. This was due to the fact that as were about to board our propeller aircraft, which was ready for take-off on the runway, for the return flight from Kribi to Douala, once again we were surrounded by the pygmy Jengi spirits in the form of soldiers and threatened with sub-machine guns. The Chinese military advisor ordered that our luggage be searched for weapons. Naturally, none were found, but instead a collection of photographs, which Kristian Fenzl was politely invited to hand over in its entirety. The pictures of executions and deformities would damage Africas image in the world and therefore they were quickly gone. We left at equal speed, with the plane, but without the photos! However, as is always the case with the passion born of desire, no sooner does it recede out of fear, it reappears with even greater fire. Kristian Fenzl again needed photographic shots, but none were available in Douala. Therefore, he purchased tin toys, which he transported through the city streets in a huge suitcase. Suddenly, the pygmy Jengi spirits in the form of soldiers reappeared yet again and the ritual threats with sub-machine guns were repeated. The suspected arms dealer Kristian Fenzl was asked what he was carrying in the case and his explanation that his huge valise contained childrens toys was not believed. Combat fatigues and toys! The suitcase was seized and examined. No weapons, but a cache of toys! Now, it is certainly the case that Kristian Fenzls friends in Linz have seen at least one African toy, as he was allowed to keep them and thus his Cameroonian passion was satiated after all. Kristian Fenzl is an important artist and like many other artists of note, he has gone through a multitude of transformations in the course of his life to date.If 25 years ago in Cameroon, the fact that his pictures were gone was a source of despair, today seeing a picture go is a delight, though as a item sold rather than a confiscation. Due to his artistic passion, we again travelled to Africa and visited the director of the museum in Livingstone (Zambia). He was not an artist, but an ornithologist. However, as the former director of the museum had been an artist and had agreed a visit for a know-how transfer with Kristian Fenzl, due to his passion the latter nonetheless received a significant artwork from the ornithological museum director as a loan ... but then that is another story. Albert Holzbauer

No Frame

vita english
Curriculum Vitae Born 12. Oct.1946 in Wels, OÖChildhood and schools in Steyr, OÖ1967 / 68 International Summer Academy for Fine Art, Salzburg, Austria 1969 - 1974 Academy for Creative Art in Vienna, Austria 1974 Diplomasince 1974 married with Veronika1975 Post graduate scholarship to the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, Department of Creative Artssince 1976 Member of the Artists Association MAERZ, Linz, Austria1976 -1983 Assistant at the College of Design, Linz, Austria1984 Founder of the Ethnodesign Institute (numerous Publications)1999 Guest Professor at University of Belem, Brazilsince 1983 Professor at the University of Art and Design Linz, Austria2000 - 2007 Head of the Department of Knowledge Transfer at University of Art and Design Linz, Austria2003 - 2008 Councilor at the Academy for Creative Art in Vienna, Austria2007 - 2009 Head Deputy of the Department for Space and Design, University of Art and Design Linz, AustriaExhibitions1967 & 1968: Festung Hohensalzburg, Salzburg / Österreich (Ausstellungsbeteiligung)1968: Galerie Kunstverein Steyr / Österreich1972: Museum fur angewandte Kunst, Wien / Österreich (Ausstellungsbeteiligung)1979: Hochschule fur Gestaltung, Linz / Österreich (Ausstellungsbeteiligung)1980: Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Wien / Österreich (Ausstellungsbeteiligung)1982: Wehrgrabenprojekt Galerie Schnittpunkt, Steyr / Österr. (Ausstellungsbeteiligung)1984: Schloss Tyllisburg bei St. Florian / Österreich (Ausstellungsbeteiligung)1985: Der Baum Der Wald, Galerie Maerz, Linz / Österreich (Ausstellungsbeteiligung)1987: Die Arbeit Die Kunst, Hackwerke, Steyr, OÖ (Ausstellungsbeteiligung) / Österreich1990: Österreichische Kunst 1900-1975, Ö. Galerie zu Gast im Schloss Halbturn / Österreich1976 2005: zahlreiche Ausstellungen im Bereich Skulptur und Design2005: Galerie in der GIWOG, Leonding bei Linz / Österreich2006: Nordico Museum der Stadt Linz / Österreich Die Hamburger Galerie, Hamburg / Deutschland Hamburger Privatmuseum fur außereuropäische Kunst, Windach/Ammersee / Deutschland Ehemaliges Benediktinerkloster Garsten (JA) / Österreich Centre d'art s'estacio, Sineu, Mallorca / Spanien Galerie Schloss Lamberg Steyr / Österreich2007: Galerie in der ehemaligen Tuchfabrik, Linz / Österreich Galerie Käthe Zwach, Schörfling/Attersee / Österreich Galerie Hipphalle Gmunden / Österreich Galerie des Goethe-Instituts, Kyoto / Japan Galerie Flohr, Santanyi, Mallorca / Spanien2008: Galerie Schloss Parz / Österreich New Century Artists, Inc., Chelsea, New York, USA Humble_rt Gallery, Brussel, Belgien Galerie Boehner, Mannheim, Deutschland Galerie Glaskasten, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Deutschland Österreichisches Kulturinstitut in der Österr. Botschaft, Buenos Aires, Argentinien Galerie Flohr, Santanyi, Mallorca / Spanien Galerie Aspelia, Larnaca / Zypern2009: Empire Art Galeria, Palma, Mallorca / Spanien Liviv Art Gallery / Ukraine2010: Galerie MAERZ, Linz / Österreich (Ausstellungsbeteiligung) Galerie Llaneras, Santanyi, Mallorca / Spanien Galerie Sailer, Santanyi, Mallorca / Spanien2011: Nit de l´art, Palma / Mallorca Galeria Berlin, Palma / Mallorca Galerie Flohr, Mallorca / Spanien Galerie Golub, Wien / ÖsterreichPrizes and Honors1967 + 1968 Honorary award for fine art from the City of Salzburg, Austria 1974 Award from the University of Creative Art, Vienna, Austria Art acquisition by the Federal Ministry for Education and Art1980 - 2004 zahlreiche internationale Publikationen und Preise im Bereich Design1983 National award for innovation from the Republic of Austria1991 Austrian national award for design1992 Honorary award for art from the City of Linz1999 Cultural medal of the City of Linz, AustriaStaatspreis der Republik Österreich für Innovation2002 Honorary degree
No Frame

deutsch

This Website was created usingwix.com Start Website builder