17. 07. 12. - 15:44
Walter Pichler dies
Reclusive Austrian artist Walter Pichler has died at the age of 76.
The famed sculptor, illustrator and architect, who was born in South Tyrol, passed away on Monday at his home in St Martin an der Raab following ill health.
Pichler was one of the country’s shyest and most idiosyncratic artists, who rarely displayed his own works.
Despite this, the artist was named in America’s Time magazine as one of the most important representatives of the Avant-garde movement, and from time to time his pieces were displayed in some of the world’s most respected galleries, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
A centre dedicated to him was opened in the district of Jennersdorf in 1972.
Working mainly with clay and wood, he believed sculpture and architecture went hand in hand, and often worked with world renowned architects such as Raimund Abraham, Coop Himmelblau and Hans Hollein.
