Galerie Dantendorfer
KURT HÜPFNER
Studio Exhibition
11 June – 30 July 2021
Exhibition: Studio Exhibition
Artist: Kurt Hüpfner (1930–2022)
Period: 11 June – 30 July 2021
Galerie Dantendorfer is pleased to dedicate a studio exhibition to the work of Kurt Hüpfner. We are showing changing selections of works by the Viennese artist, giving visitors the opportunity to experience the full spectrum of his oeuvre.
Kurt Hüpfner – painter, sculptor, draftsman, author, visionary, and much more. One word is not enough to describe the Viennese artist and his 70-year-long oeuvre. Born in Vienna in 1930, Hüpfner encountered art and literature early on through reading cultural magazines such as Der Turm and Der Monat. On the cover of Der Turm in 1946, he saw a modern painting for the first time (The Man with the Carnation) by Vincent van Gogh and was “struck like lightning.” A year later, he began training as a commercial graphic designer at the Höhere Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt in Vienna-Neubau. There he laid the foundation for his drawing education, which would accompany him throughout his artistic career.
In the 1960s, Hüpfner was a regular visitor to the reading room of the Albertina in Vienna, satisfying his hunger for education and inspiration. At the same time, he began experimenting with the practice of “automatic drawing,” which is not planned but flows intuitively from the artist’s hand. Its origins lie in the écriture automatique of the Surrealists of the 1920s. He later used these drawings as studies for sculptures and assemblages.
A turning point in his work was the creation of his first sculptural piece Dame mit schöner Frisur in 1962, which he reinterpreted in 1969 in the woodwork Nymphe Cloacina. Hüpfner spent his entire life in Vienna. He only traveled a few times with his wife Fritzi or for his job as a chauffeur, but none of these trips left a lasting impression on him. Limited financial resources often forced him to rely on everyday materials such as scrap or linden wood for further sculptures. In the 1980s and 1990s, he also produced his first plaster and terracotta sculptures, often painted with oil paint.
Thematically, Hüpfner’s works are shaped by personal encounters and experiences, while also processing war memories and historical events of the 20th century. Notable are the many figures from novels, mythological tales, and the Bible that repeatedly appear in his works. From this mix of influences, the artist creates a unique world full of fantastical beings and figures, formed from various materials, colors, and shapes. The color palette is mostly dark, with only occasional bright, fresh accents. The works often appear raw and rough; pencil and brushstrokes are visible, and in the sculptures, the traces of the artist’s hands and tools remain.
There is usually no explicit message behind a work; Hüpfner himself repeatedly interprets his works anew. He stated that he has no interest in the figures or the story itself. The goal is to find the correct arrangement of lines in the composition. Notably, his compositions are almost entirely two-dimensional, and spatial impression usually arises only through the layering of surfaces. He prioritizes the overall effect of a work, intentionally neglecting distracting details. The aim is to create the impression of the fleeting, as if the moment before us dissolves again in the very same instant.
Exhibition Views
