Here are some facts about Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the Austrian artist.
- Hundertwasser was born on 15th December 1928 in Vienna, Austria.
- His real name was Friedrich Stowasser, and his full pseudonym was Friedensreich Regentag Dukelbunt Hundertwasser.
- After World War 2, Hundertwasser studied for three months at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He left to go travelling.
- The first exhibition of his work was held in Vienna in 1952.
- Hundertwasser has produced many different types of works of art (ranging from paintings, postage stamps, clothes, flags).
- His work often includes bright colours and natural, organic forms. He seldom used straight lines, and he used lots of spirals.
Today we live in a chaos of straight lines, in a jungle of straight lines. If you do not believe this, take the trouble to count the straight lines which surround you. Then you will understand, for you will never finish counting.
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
- He also became interested in architecture and designed many houses using organic forms, curved lines, and bold use of colour.
- Hundertwasser had very strong political views, shaped by his experiences of the Nazi regime during World War 2. He was anti-totalitarian and campaigned against the European Union because he thought it would eradicate regional variation. He was also very aware of environmental issues.
- In the 1960s, Hundertwasser spent time in Uganda, Africa, and in the 1970s, he purchased property in New Zealand. In New Zealand, he experimented with self-sufficient living, and he used solar panels and water wheels to provide his property with electricity.
- During his career, Hundertwasser designed buildings in cities and locations all over the world, including Vienna, Frankfurt, Osaka, Kawakawa, Napa Valley, and Magdeburg.
- Towards the end of his life, Hundertwasser settled in New Zealand, and he was buried there after his death at sea on the ship Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2000. He was 71.
- John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) asked Richard Evans to produce an homage to Hundertwasser for the cover of PiL’s Happy? album.
- His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in dozens of cities, including Vienna, Paris, Tokyo, Hamburg, New York, Sydney, Munich, Montreal, Rotterdam, Seoul, Venice, and Christchurch.
If we do not honor our past, we lose our future. If we destroy our roots, we cannot grow.
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
- In 2017 Hundertwasser’s Ville vue d’au-delà du soleil sold at auction for more than 500,000 Euros.
- Hundertwasser was commissioned by the German government to design a poster for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
- During his lifetime, he owned homes in New Zealand, Austria, France, and Italy. He also spent some time believing on his sailboat, Regentag (Rainy Day).
- Hundertwasser was married twice (to Herta Leitner, and then to Yuko Ikeweda). Both marriages ended in divorce.
- In 1983, Hundertwsser designed the Koru Flag as an alternative to New Zealand’s national flag. The design is based on a Maori curling fern pattern,
Visual pollution is more poisonous than any other pollution because it kills the soul.
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
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