Bruno Gironcoli (27 September 1936 – 19 February 2010) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n modern artist. Born in

Villach Villach (; sl, Beljak; it, Villaco; fur, Vilac) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the p ...

, Gironcoli began training as a goldsmith in 1951 in Innsbruck, completing his apprenticeship in 1956. Between 1957 and 1962 he studied in the

University of Applied Arts Vienna The University of Applied Arts Vienna (german: Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, or informally just ''Die Angewandte'') is an arts university and institution of higher education in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It has had university sta ...

. In 1977 Gironcoli became head of the School of Sculpture at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

, as successor to

Fritz Wotruba Fritz Wotruba (23 April 1907, Vienna, Austria – 28 August 1975, Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor of Czecho- Hungarian descent. He was considered one of the most notable sculptors of the 20th century in Austria. In his work, he increasingly di ...

. He was the official Austrian representative at the 2003

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. The most substantial collection of his work so far can be seen since September 2004 in a dedicated museum in the Park at

Schloss Herberstein Schloss Herberstein is a castle in Styria, Austria. Schloss Herberstein is situated at an elevation of . Castle and the surrounding area Herberstein Castle sits on a rock in the ravine and thus is not accessible from 3 sides. At the same time, ...

. In an area of 2000 square metres, many of his large futuristic sculptures are exhibited. Bruno Gironcoli died in February 2010 in Wien after a long illness. He was interred at

Wiener Zentralfriedhof The Vienna Central Cemetery (german: Wiener Zentralfriedhof) is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its ...

Honours and awards

* Prize of the city of Vienna for Visual Arts (1976) *

Grand Austrian State Prize The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria. It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...

(1993) *

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian ...

(1997)

External links

*
Obituary
in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

Marcus Williamson Marcus Williamson is a British writer, journalist and campaigner. As an obituarist for ''The Independent'' he has written obituaries of more than 300 subjects, including artists, poets, actors and inventors. Campaigns Phorm In 2009 the AIM-l ...

Gironcoli MuseumThe Africa-Collection of Gironcoli (german)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gironcoli, Bruno 1936 births 2010 deaths People from Villach Academics of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Recipients of the Grand Austrian State Prize Austrian contemporary artists