Walter Pichler

Sculptures, Drawings, Models

June 27 August 1, 2025

New York: 64th Street

Gladstone presents Walter Pichler: Sculptures, Drawings, Models, marking the artist’s first exhibition with the gallery since 2001, curated by Olivia Shao. Comprising fourteen works from across Pichler’s rich career, the show highlights the wide range of mediums in which he practiced, including photography, sculpture, and drawing, as well as his exploration of architecture, history, and the relationship between the human body and technology. This exhibition marks a special tribute to late gallery founder Barbara Gladstone, as it was the last presentation she actively oversaw, in close dialogue with Shao and the Walter Pichler Estate.

Installation

Installation view, Walter Pichler: Sculptures, Drawings, Models, Gladstone, New York, 2025.

Work

Walter Pichler

Schmetterling (Butterfly), 1962
Plaster
27 x 27 12 x 10 12 inches (68.6 x 69.9 x 26.7 cm)
© Walter Pichler
Courtesy of the estate and Gladstone

About

Studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Innsbruck from 1952 to 1955 and the University for Applied Arts in Vienna from 1955 to 1959, Pichler was a key figure in the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, known for his use of minimalist, geometric forms and medium including metal, wood, air-dried clay, and other ephemeral materials. His work reflects a deep interest in utopian visions and the fusion of art, architecture, human forms, ancient history, and philosophical concepts. Pichler had solo exhibited at the Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery, Columbia University, New York; Tiroler Landesmuseen, Innsbruck, Austria; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Generali Foundation, Vienna; Galerie Museum, Bolzano, Italy; Museum fur Angewandte Kunst, Vienna; Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany; the Museum der Moderne, Salzburg; the Belvedere, Vienna among others. He has also been included in group exhibitions at institutions including: MAK Study Collection Furniture, Vienna; Austrian Cultural Forum, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai; and the Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna. Pichler participated in Documenta 6 (1976), Documenta 4 (1968) in Kassel, Germany, and Venice Biennale (1982) in Venice, Italy.

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