Walter Robert Loosli (29 July 1932 – 29 November 2015) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

sculptor,

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

engraver and maker of painted

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

panels and windows. Loosli was born in La Chaux-d'Abel, a part of

Sonvilier Sonvilier is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Jura bernois (administrative district), Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois' ...

in the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

, Switzerland. He trained first as a primary school teacher and therapist in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, but went on to further training in the School of Art (''Kunstgewerbeschule'') in Bern. He learned drawing with

Hans Schwarzenbach Hans Schwarzenbach (24 May 1913 – 18 September 1993) was a Swiss equestrian. He was born in Langnau im Emmental. He won silver medal in team eventing at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, together with Anton Bühler and Rudolf Günthardt R ...

and

Max von Mühlenen Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

. He also studied sculpture with Salvatore Meli in Rome. Since 1972 Loosli has worked as an independent artist. His principal activity is the fitting-out and decoration of rooms, particularly churches. Loosli has lived since 1954 in the village of

Köniz Köniz (, ) is a statistical town (though residents still regard it as a village) and a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district right on the southern border to Bern in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The municipality of K� ...

, where he also has a gallery.

Exhibitions

*1991 Galerie Heubühne Oberdiessbach: sculptures and woodcuts *1992 Könizer Galerie: murals and stained or painted glass windows *1995 Postmuseum Prag: graphics and drawings *2001 Könizer Galerie: new glass *2005 Kirchgemeindehaus Johannes Bern: glass, woodcuts, sculptures *2006 Eglise du Pasquart Bienne: stained or painted glass windows

Selected works

*1973 District Prison, Bern: ceramic wall decoration in the foyer (233 x 287 cm) *1991/92 Catholic Church,

Interlaken Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss ...

: ''Feuer und Wasser, Himmel und Erde'' (Fire and water, Heaven and Earth) – two windows in the nave (700 x 360 cm each); ''Himmlisches Jerusalem und Weltenrad'' (Heavenly Jerusalem and World Wheel) – two clerestory windows (390 x 105 and 390 x 420 cm); ''Pfingstwunder'' (Whitsun Miracle) – group of windows over the main entrance (150 x 180 cm) and two flanking windows (154 x 61 cm each); ''Maria im Strahlenkranz'' (Mary in Radiance) and ''Drei Lilien'' (Three Lilies) – four windows in the side chapel (152 x 61 cm each) *1997/99

Rüegsau Rüegsau is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the Swiss canton of Bern. History Rüegsau is first mentioned in 1139 as ''Ruxow''. In 1229 it was mentioned as ''Ruchisowe''. The name comes from ''ruggere aue'', in mo ...

Church: ''Karfreitag, Ostern, Pfingsten'' (Good Friday, Easter, Whitsun) – three windows in the choir (middle window 360 x 120 cm; two side windows 175 x 108 cm each); ''Die sieben Schöpfungstage'' (The Seven Days of Creation) – seven windows in the nave (87 x 108 cm each) *2004 "Talita kum – Mädchen steh auf!" (Talitha kum – girl, arise!) woodcuts by Walter Loosli, texts by Klara Butting and Gerard Minnaard (Verlag Erev-Rav) *1999/2011 stained glass windows in

Kappelen Kappelen () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Seeland (administrative district), Seeland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. History Kappelen is first mentio ...

Church

Literature

* Walter Loosli, Stefan Trümpler, Heinz Zwahlen, Fred Zaugg: ''Glasfenster und Wandgestaltung''. Stämpfli Verlag: Bern

References

External links

*
Loosli's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loosli, Walter 1932 births 2015 deaths Swiss artists People from the canton of Bern Swiss stained glass artists and manufacturers