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Franz Ecker
Komposition 3

$5,003.23
£3,711.66
€5,163.75VAT Included
CA$6,971.29
A$7,022.65
CHF 4,096.46
MX$85,738.52
NOK 46,737.65
SEK 48,917.74
DKK 32,406.70

About the Item

Since his untimely death in 1999, the work of Franz Ecker has been undergoing a long-overdue reappraisal, reflected in numerous solo exhibitions, catalogues and a remarkable feature film. An exceptionally prolific painter, Ecker left behind an almost overwhelming oeuvre of extraordinary stylistic breadth, including a number of outstanding works that have few equals in recent Austrian art history and whose significance has yet to be fully recognised. When Franz Ecker returned to Leonding in 1966, following his studies under Sergius Pauser and having received two state prizes, he had already developed a clearly defined abstract visual language. Cézanne and Picasso can be cited as sources of inspiration, while Martin Polasek was undoubtedly also an important teacher. These influences led to a form of abstract painting centred on the picture plane, in which precise colour relationships and rigorous composition create a spatial experience. Franz Ecker’s painting is at its most compelling precisely at the boundary between representation and abstraction. Until around 1975, he also produced a large number of watercolours, using the medium particularly for lyrical works. If Franz Ecker is nevertheless not counted among the canon of the avant-garde of the 1970s, this is largely because he rejected the art market almost to the point of self-denial. Rather than taking advantage of the opportunities available to him in Vienna, he returned to Linz after completing his studies at the Academy a city that at the time offered neither an understanding of his work nor a viable market for it. Cut off from the established art world, Ecker uncompromisingly lived the precarious existence of a solitary genius. In his case, however, the artist myth was bitter reality. Undeterred, Ecker continued to develop an increasingly broad visual language within the clear framework of his abstract approach, a process he also emphasised through constantly evolving forms of his signature. By the end of the 1970s, his work became increasingly gestural and expressive. Works such as Ecker’s Kafka anticipated the emergence of the “Neue Wilden” (“New Wild Ones”). When these artists were celebrated a few years later as heralding the “return of painting,” Franz Ecker remarked with characteristic confidence in an interview that he could see little that was new in it. He was, he suggested, still “a one-eyed man among the blind.” By this point, Franz Ecker had already developed his style into a highly structured, planar form of painting that has often been compared to the work of Keith Haring. For museums, curators, art historians and collectors, Ecker has left behind an oeuvre that still offers enormous potential for interpretation, reassessment and, above all, discovery.
  • Creator:
    Franz Ecker (1943 - 1999)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 33.86 in (86 cm)Width: 33.86 in (86 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Wien, AT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1782212691192

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Since Franz Ecker’s early death in 1999 his work has been newly appreciated, what is manifested in numerous exhibitions, catalogues and in the acclaimed film about the artist. He was extremely productive and left behind an almost unmanageable scope of works in various styles. Among them some of the top works that are unparalleled in recent Austrian art history and whose significance has not yet been adequately appreciated. After finishing his studies in 1966 in class of prof. Sergius Pauser and after receiving his two prizes, Franz Ecker moved back to Leonding where he developed his clear, abstract language of forms. Among his sources of inspiration are Cezanne and Picasso, as well as Martin Polasek who was one of his teachers. This led him to painting in a flat and abstract manner, which triggers a spatial experience through its exact color coordination and strict composition. The strongest period in his oeuvre is the time when his paintings are between figuration and abstraction. Only until around 1975 he additionally creates numerous watercolors, even though he restricts this medium to his more lyrical works. If Franz Ecker cannot be included in the avant-garde cannon of the 70’s, it is only because he witheld from presenting his works on the art market. Instead of using the opportunities that were offered to him in Vienna, he returned after his time at the academy to Linz where there was no appreciation nor market for his works. Distanced from the established art business, Ecker lives uncompromisingly the precarious life of a lonely genius. An artist myth, which in his case certainly is a bitter reality. Unimpressed by this, Ecker develops an increasingly broad language of forms within the clear line of abstract pictorial conception, which he emphasizes with constantly new forms of signature. At the end of the seventies his works became more gestural and expressive. His works like “Kafka” anticipate the “Neue Wilden”. When these are celebrated as the “return of painting...

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