Hundertwasser oversaw the opening of the museum in 1991 – which holds the world’s largest collection of his work – after transforming the abandoned factory “according to his aesthetic ideals into a unique piece of art”, curator Andreas Hirsch told AFP as the new permanent exhibition opened.
The artist described himself as a “doctor” repairing “sick” buildings to achieve harmony with nature.
In one of his manifestos, he railed against “rationalism in architecture”, declaring that “the straight line is godless”.
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Born Friedrich Stowasser in Vienna in 1928 to a Jewish mother, Hundertwasser managed to survive the Nazis by passing himself off as a member of the Hitler Youth, wearing the swastika armband “as protection”.
Almost 70 family members perished in the Holocaust.
He later changed his name to Friedensreich Hundertwasser – meaning “Kingdom of peace, 100 waters” in German. Having suffered such tragedy, he was all the more eager “to achieve something great”, said Hirsch, who wrote two books on the artist.
Hundertwasser designed more than 30 architectural projects all over the world including incinerators, thermal baths and toilets.
Starting out as a painter, he developed an almost obsessive interest in spiral forms.
Source: CNA
