Austria 2016, lacquered steel frame, grey and pink leather, upholstery by Wittmann, height c. 47 cm, diameter c. 80 cm. (MHA)

“seat”, like Gilbert Bretterbauer’s carpets, plays with surfaces, levels and spaces. The artist’s thinking frees itself from the illusion of a neutral space. Even furniture, if it is merely functionalised, is subject to a categorisation that does not contemplate the ‘life’ of a room, but only disciplines it. Bretterbauer’s objects do not take up space solely for their own beauty. In the interaction between construction and environment, they determine the space that belongs to them. “seats” are the result of this: objects generated from circular patterns, which stand out and are furniture whilst also asserting themselves as functional artworks.” (Carola Platzek)

Gilbert Bretterbauer was born in Vienna in 1957. From 1979 to 1986, he studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, where he also lectured from 1987 to 1988 and from 1991 to 1997. Since 2011, he has held a professorship at the University of Design in Linz. He founded “studio bretterbauer / baldwin” in Vienna and Los Angeles in 1998 and “bretterbauerobjects” in 2012. He designs interiors, produces furniture and creates art objects and installations. Abstraction plays a crucial role in his multifaceted artistic practice.

A unique piece.

Cf. Lit.:
bretterbauer objects, Vienna 2014, p. 55 ff, ill. p. 63.