Hortensia Fussy
Hortensia Fussy (born 25 March 1954 in Graz; pseudonym: Hortensia), is an Austrian sculptor.
Biography
![](../I/m/Hortensia_-_Karyatide_Burg_Deutschlandsberg.jpg)
From 1970–1972, Hortensia studied sculpture at the School of Applied Arts in Graz with Josef Pillhofer and from 1972–1975 at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna with Fritz Wotruba. Since 1975, she has been a freelance artist. In parallel to her work as a sculptor, Hortensia has created cycles of drawings and water colours during numerous trips within Europe and Africa, including the landscape cycles Spain (1983–1985), Tuscany and Umbria (1987–1990), Portugal (1997), Dalmatia (1999–2002), Egypt (2000), Sicily (2002) and Italian Dolomites (2003–2012). From 2003–2012, she has been leading the "Drawing School Hortensia" in Bad Gams, Western Styria.
![](../I/m/Hortensia_Hommage_a_Courbet.jpg)
Artistic Work
The focus of the work of the Austrian sculptor and painter Hortensia is the human figure. "Hortensia Fussy continues a development of visual arts in Austria, which starts with Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele and has been continued by artists such as the painter Herbert Boeckl and the sculptor Josef Pillhofer. The greatest influence on Hortensia Fussys artistic career however was by the renowned Austrian sculptor Fritz Wotruba."[1]
In an early working phase, Hortensia put a special focus to the transition from the second into the third dimension. "With sculptures done from images of Piero della Francesca, Francisco de Goya, Albrecht Dürer or Jan Vermeer, she has been going along this path of "spatialization" in the early 1980s",[2] including sculptures such as "Figure after Goya," 1980; "Figure after Dürer", 1981, "Hommage a Courbet", 1988–95.
The interaction of the two terms "shape" and "figure" are defining Hortensias aesthetic imperative: "My sculptures shall be earthy, centered, sensual and measured !".[3] Since 2002, Hortensia has been running a series of exhibitions entitled "Shape and Figure" (Slovakia, Bratislava, 2003; USA Washington D.C, 2004; Russia, Moscow, 2008; Deutschlandsberg Castle, Styria, 2009–2010.
Awards
- 1987: Theodor-Körner-Award
- 1999: Liesl Bareuther Award, Künstlerhaus, Vienna
Permanently exhibited works (Selection)
- Denkmal Präsident Rudolf Sallinger, Rudolf Sallinger Platz, Vienna
- Karyatide, Burg Deutschlandsberg
- Figur nach Goya, Sammlung Vienna Insurance Group, Ringturm Vienna
- Hommage a Courbet –Harrach Palace, Vienna
Personal Exhibitions (Selection)
- 1984: Galerie Würthle, Vienna, Austria
- 1990: Galerie Norbert Blaeser, Düsseldorf, Germany
- 1997: Sarajevo Winter Festival, Bosnia y Hercegovina
- 1998: Forum Lagos 1998, Portugal
- 1998: Kulturhaus, Graz, Austria
- 2001: Cairo Opera Art Gallery, Egypt.
- 2004: Austrian Embassy, Washington D.C, USA
- 2008: Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia[4][5]
- 2009–2010: Museum Archeo Norico, Burg Deutschlandsberg, Austria
- 2011: Graz University, Austria
Literature
- Form und Figur, 2008, ISBN 978-80-969998-0-4.
- Doppel-Spiele, 2009, ISBN 978-3-9502799-0-0.
References
- Dr. Robert Gerschner, "Shape and Figure", 2008.
- Ass-Prof. Dr. Hans-Walter Ruckenbauer, from "Static, Rhythm and Proportion", 2011.
- Hortensia. Quote from "Shape and Figure", 2008
- Hortensia Fussy: Shape and Figure from 3 October 2008, Moscow, Central House of Artists.
- Hortensia Fussy: Shape and Figure: Pictures from the Exhibition Opening in Moscow.