CARL AUBÖCK
from tableware to a prefabricated housing
5.9. 2024 - 4.11. 2024
Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W)
Museumsplatz 1 / MQ, 1070 Vienna, AT
marking the hundredth anniversary of his birth and the acquisition of his archive by the collection, the exhibition offers dual insights - into Auböcks ouevre and into Az W’s collection activity. like a large formal archival box, the exhibition opens up, yielding material from Carl Auböck’s cosmopolitan life and work.
Carl Auböck (1924-1993) was a member of a family, which has produced classics in architecture and design disciplines for more than 125 years. the “living archive” makes it possible to experience the processing of this important addition to the Az W collection first hand. visitors will get a glimpse behind the scenes of the collection team’s research activities among design objects, models, plans, photos and drawings. in addition, we’ve invited experts on Auböck’s work as well as some of his aquaintances and relatives to participate in the discussion series titled “out of the box”.
Carl Auböck completed several craft apprenticeships and studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology before studying in the USA in the early 1950s. he came into contact with representatives of international modernism earlier than other austrian architects through a postgraduate course at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. the methods of serial prefabrication of buildings and components that he learned in the USA shaped his residential buildings in Vienna. Auböck's broad concept of architecture and design ranged from urban planning agendas to the construction of detached houses and residential complexes to the design of everyday objects such as cutlery and ski fashion. he designed a series of technically innovative products for well-known companies such as Tyrolia, Riedel Glas and Neuzeughammer Ambosswerk, which also set new standards in terms of design.
„it doesn’t matter if one is planning part of a city or tableware, both incorporate design“
(Carl Auböck III.)
curators: Sonja Pisarik & Monika Platzer, Az W
exhibition design: asphalt Kollektiv für Architektur (Natascha Peinsipp, Felix Steinhoff)
exhibition graphics: Stella Rollny Kucher
text: Az W / 2024
thank you to the entire Az W team for the great cooperation and the truly outstanding exhibition design and curation.
photos: (c) werkstätte CA, Carl Auböck V, eSeL.at - Joanna Pianka
flyer: (c) grafisches Büro
ICONIC AUBÖCK
A Workshop Shapes Austrias Concept of Design.
15.5. 2024 - 6.1. 2025
MAK Central Room
Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna, AT
the exhibition ICONIC AUBÖCK focuses on the style-defining era of the interwar and post-war period through to the experimental 1980s and explores the works of the Auböck workshop through the lens of surrealism. in many sculptural Auböck objects, the strategies on this artistic and Liter movement, which propagated a novel view of things, are recognizable. inspired by the bauhaus, Carl Auböck (1900 - 1957) brought local and international movements together and shaped the characteristic Auböck design, from collections of objects for modern living, the infamous tree trunk table and various table and floor lamps.
also, the work of sculpture and textile artist Mara Uckunowa (1985 - 1987) who met Auböck at the bauhaus in weimar, will be presented for the first time.
the MAK shows a large range of Auböck objects from our archive as well as parts of private collectors pieces. the exhibition is accompanied by a series of side events, such as MAK on tour - a combination of a guided tour and a visit to the workshop. alongside the exhibition, the catalogue ICONIC AUBÖCK was released in june 2024:
we are grateful for all the support that made this exhibition possible - first and foremost the MAK and its fantastic team, our sponsors, the auboeck collectors and the family.
photos (c) MAK / Julia Dragosits 2024
poster / photo: (c) MAK / Christian Mendez
AUBÖCK: THE GALLET COLLECTION
4.5. 2024 - 28.7. 2024
Touchstone Center for Crafts
1049 Wharton Furnace Rd., Farmington, PA 15437, USA
located in Touchstone’s Bea Campbell Gallery, with select works placed at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater home in situ.
the Gallet collection, presents an exhibition of rare and important works of art and objects from the internationally renowned Werkstätte Carl Auböck, located in Vienna, Austria, and in operation for over 120 years. works from this famous workshop are recognized internationally and included in important collections throughout the world. the Gallet family’s collection spans five generations and includes examples of metal-working, woodwork, ceramics, artwork, architecture, ephemera, and more. this exhibition provides an intimate glimpse into the extraordinary life of Valerie Auböck Gallet and her family shown through a private, curated collection of artworks and ephemera.
Valerie Auböck Gallet (daughter of Karl Auböck, the founder of the Werkstätte Carl Auböck) and her husband began their life together in Vienna, Austria in 1935 before fleeing Europe just before France declared war on Germany and settling in Uniontown, PA. it was here, in Uniontown, that they had a successful knitting mill ‘Gallet Mills’, which would play a vital role in the fashion industry, producing garments for some of the most iconic brands of the mid to late 20th century such as Catalina, Jantzen, Ralph Lauren, Jos. A. Bank, Izod, Brooks Brothers and more. this famous family also includes Maria (Bloch Bauer) Altmann, the central figure around which the book and movie, “Women in Gold” is based, which detailed the challenges Maria faced while regaining paintings of her aunt, Adele (a remarkable work of art known to many as the “Mona Lisa of Austria”) by the famous painter Gustav Klimt.
text: Touchstone Center for Crafts / 2024
we want to thank the Gallet family for lending their collection, Kenneth Greep for connecting the dots and telling the story as well as the team from the Touchstone Center for Crafts, the Fallingwater team and the Pittsburgh Modern Committee for bringing this exhibition to life.
curator: Kenneth Greep
historical background: Carl Auböck & Maria Auböck
creative directors: Jim Mochnsky & Kenneth Greep
art handler: Robert Katkowski & Travis Winters
photos: (c) Touchstone Center for Crafts/ 2024, Kenneth Greep/ 2024
flyer design: (c) Gallet Family, Kenneth Greep
