© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Georg Mayer
Previous Image
With the to date most comprehensive retrospective of his entire oeuvre, the MAK is honoring the impressive work of architect, designer, teacher, and exhibition organizer Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956), one of the central figures of Viennese Modernism and the international Lebensreform (life reform) movement around 1900. To him, bringing beauty into his customers’ lives through design was equivalent to aesthetic and social progress.
15.12.2021—19.6.2022
Lower Exhibition Hall
In the course of the exhibition, already familiar works by Hoffmann were complemented by important objects from his 60-year creative work and consequently existing research gaps were closed. In 20 chapters with more than 1,000 exhibits, the show approaches Hoffmann’s monumental oeuvre, which covers all aspects of daily life like architecture, interior design, fashion, as well as practical objects. Originally from Brtnice, Czech Republic, Hoffmann lived to experience five different political periods, from the Habsburg monarchy to the Second Republic. He was co-founder of the Union of Austrian Artists – Secession, the Wiener Werkstätte, the German and Austrian Werkbund and knew how to convey his special taste and an aesthetic identity to his customers as well as generations of students at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. His pioneering spirit united an artistically ambitious architectural approach with a product culture shaped by craftsmanship.
Josef Hoffmann’s long life spanned more than eight decades of which he spent at least six active as an artist. He lived and worked in five political systems and influenced hundreds of designers to the present day while always remaining true to his high creative standards. But who was this well-dressed man with a mustache and pince-nez? The new digi.STORY provides insights into the multifaceted life of the architect and designer. The MAK.digiSTORY is part of the project ATCZ264 – JH Neu digital / JH Nově digitální and was cofinanced by EFRE funds from the European Union (INTERREG V-A Österreich – Tschechische Republik).
digi.STORY english
česká verze
digi.STORY english
česká verze
The exhibition is accompanied by the publication JOSEF HOFFMANN 1870–1956: Progress Through Beauty. The Guide to His Oeuvre, edited by Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, Matthias Boeckl, Rainald Franz, and Christian Witt-Dörring, with contributions by Matthias Boeckl, Elisabeth Boeckl-Klamper, Rainald Franz, Anette Freytag, Sebastian Hackenschmidt, Otto Kapfinger, Markus Kristan, Christopher Long, Klára Němečková, Andreas Nierhaus, Jan Norrman, Eva-Maria Orosz, Adrián Prieto Fernandez, Ursula Prokop, Lara Steinhäußer, Valerio Terraroli, Wolfgang Thillmann, Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, and Christian Witt-Dörring. English, 448 pages with numerous color illustrations. MAK, Vienna/Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 2021. Available at the MAK Design Shop and online at MAKdesignshop.at for € 69.95.
At guide.MAK.at you can find audios on the highlights of the exhibition for free and without download.
© MAK
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© Wolfgang Woessner/MAK
© MAK
© MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
© MAK
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© Aslan Kudrnofsky/MAK
© MAK
© MAK
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© Peter Kainz/MAK
© MAK
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Georg Mayer
© MAK/Georg Mayer
Previous Image
CURATORS
Guest Curators: Matthias Boeckl, Christian Witt-Dörring
Curator: Rainald Franz, Curator, MAK Glass and Ceramics Collection
Cooperation Partner
Guest Curators: Matthias Boeckl, Christian Witt-Dörring
Curator: Rainald Franz, Curator, MAK Glass and Ceramics Collection
Cooperation Partner
Media
Josef Hoffmann, Belt buckle for the Wiener Werkstätte, execution: Karl Ponocny, silver, opal, malachite, coral, 1905 © MAK/Georg Mayer
Josef Hoffmann, Silver flatware for Fritz and Lili Waerndorfer, flat model, silver, Wiener Werkstätte, 1904–1908 © Aslan Kudrnofsky/MAK
Josef Hoffmann, Design for silver flatware for Fritz and Lili Waerndorfer, flat model, Wiener Werkstätte, 1904 © MAK
Josef Hoffmann, Fauteuil from Cabaret Fledermaus, chair, model no. 728, J. & J. Kohn, bentwood, 1907 © MAK/Georg Mayer
Josef Hoffmann, Centerpiece with two handles for the Wiener Werkstätte, brass, 1924 © MAK/Georg Mayer
Josef Hoffmann, Porcelain set “Melon” [Melon] for the Augarten Porcelain Manufactory, 1931 © MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
Josef Hoffmann, Chair from the dining hall of Sanatorium Westend, Purkersdorf, J. & J. Kohn, wood, leather, 1904 © MAK/Georg Mayer
Josef Hoffmann, Table for the living room of Dr. Hans Salzer’s apartment, ca. 1902 © Wolfgang Woessner/MAK
Josef Hoffmann, Upholstered chair from the Boudoir d’une grande vedette [Boudoir for a Big Star], Paris World’s Fair, 1937 © MAK/Georg Mayer
Josef Hoffmann, Daybed from the Boudoir d’une grande vedette [Boudoir for a Big Star], Paris World’s Fair, 1937 © Nathan Murrell/MAK
Josef Hoffmann, Reconstruction of the Boudoir d’une grande vedette [Boudoir for a Big Star], Paris World’s Fair, 1937 © MAK
Josef Hoffmann, Basket with handles for the Wiener Werkstätte, latticework object, silver, 1906 © MAK/Georg Mayer
Josef Hoffmann, Vase from a dresser set for the Wiener Werkstätte, glass, bronzite, J. & L. Lobmeyr, 1913 © Peter Kainz/MAK
Josef Hoffmann, Wiener Werkstätte Postcard No. 75, Bar Room „CABARET FLEDERMAUS, WIEN, KÄRNTNERSTRASSE 33“, Vienna, 1907 © MAK