Walter Pichler, TV-Helm (Tragbares Wohnzimmer), 1967
Hollein-Pichler-Architecture was the title of Walter Pichler">Walter Pichler">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler and Hans Hollein's exhibition of visionary utopian designs at the Galerie St. Stephan in Vienna in 1963. The manifestos, photo montages, drawings and models of subterranean cityscapes they presented were in many ways a challenge to the prevailing concept of architecture at the time. Pichler and Hollein did not focus on palpable architectural projects. Masked as utopianism, their work was rather a criticism of a functionalism that valued function over form. Pure or “absolute” architecture should be “pointless” and therefore free. Accordingly, the exhibition was controversially discussed. Part of the work was purchased by Philip Johnson for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, thus laying the foundation for Pichler's artistic career.
Walter Pichler">Walter Pichler">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler">Walter Pichler">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler">Following this work, in the 1960s Pichler created his Prototypes, an iconic group of works that moves on the fringe between architecture, design and sculpture and emerged in the context of the social and technological innovations of its time. Pichler used materials that were new at the time such as polyester, acrylic glass, PVC, and aluminum, as well as pneumatic elements. With the denotation of “prototype,” Pichler alluded to the laboratory-like character of his work, which was playing with the idea to eventually enter mass production. Thanks to the permanent loan from the Generali Foundation to the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, the museum holds the largest stock of this erratic group of works by Walter Pichler">Walter Pichler">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4683">Walter Pichler, which will be shown for the first time in many years on this special occasion along with many important loans.
