Exhibition "Born from Fire" - Helmut Hundstorfer

Publisher, Copyright, Concept, Hundstorfer Collector:
Erwin SCHÜTZ, Mobile 0664 1308693, erwin.schuetz@r-s-fassaden.at
Brother of the founder of the Schütz Art Museum, Josef Schütz
Layout, Graphics, and Photography: die baumgartnerin
The 264-page picture book with color photos of around 300 glass objects from the years 1979 to 2008 on 170g/m2 paper, matte art print, impressively showcases the incredible versatility of the glass artist.
This picture book is the only book to date about the entire artistic oeuvre of Helmut W. Hundstorfer.
Essay:
Gregor Auenhammer
Texts:
Friedrich Bernhofer, Gallery Owner Hans Herrmann, Erwin Schütz, Gallery Owner Susanne Stadler, Helmut W. Hundstorfer, Gallery Owner Rudolf Schneeberger
The book lists a selection of around 250 exhibitions, symposia, and works in public collections both domestically and abroad, including in Essen, Hamburg, Lucerne, Frankfurt, Munich, Bremen, Brussels, Washington, New Jersey, Vaduz, Hanover, Tokyo, Maastricht, Bonn, Luxembourg, Strasbourg, Tampa-Florida, Florence, Khobar-Saudi Arabia, Amsterdam, Bratislava, New York, Edinburgh.
Stations of the artist Helmut W. HUNDSTORFER, born on October 20, 1947, in Linz:

1962 to 1966 Glassworks Linz
1966 to 1967 During his mandatory service with the Austrian Armed Forces, the Glassworks Linz filed for bankruptcy.
1967 to 1968 Prof. Claus Riedel, Tyrolean Glassworks Kufstein
1968 to 1970 Mittinger Antique Glass (Church Glass) Darmstadt
1970 to 1973 Doria Lighting Glass Nuremberg
1973 to 1975 Siemens Medical Technology Erlangen
1975 to 1979 Zimmermann Glassworks Rohr near Kremsmünster
1978 to 1980 Beginning of self-employment in a truck garage in Wilhering
First exhibitions and sales in renowned galleries, including in Salzburg, Linz, Vienna, and the Bavarian Forest
1980 to 1992 Workshop in his own house in the hometown of his wife Hermi in Riedau in the Schärding district
Tour in Japan with exhibitions planned in three cities. Since all glass objects were sold in Tokyo, the tour for the two other cities had to be canceled.
The venerable glass manufacturer Lobmeyr in Baden near Vienna financed Hundstorfer a study stay at the famous Glass School in Seattle, USA, after a well-attended exhibition opened by US Ambassador Helene von Damm.
"US glass pope" Harley Littleton was so impressed with the glass objects that he invited Hundstorfer as the only European to work with him in the USA.
1992 to 2008 Workshop and gallery in Kopfing in the Schärding district. His wife Hermi was the most important person by his side as an employee in the workshop, as a gallery owner, and a successful seller.
2008 Sale of house and workshop in Kopfing to Swiss glass artist Rolf Brühlmann, followed by occasional collaboration with Brühlmann in Kopfing, relocation to the district town of Schärding, hot glass painting on wood with Rudolf Schneeberger, about 90 exhibits.
Quotes from the picture book "Born from Fire":
"It was the Glassworks Linz, of which the then 15-year-old Helmut still tells with full excitement and enthusiasm even six decades later. He was so impressed by the archaic nature of the craftsmanship that he began, against his parents' wishes, who had envisioned a completely different life path for their son, to serve an apprenticeship at the Linz glassworks."
(Gregor AUENHAMMER, pages 5 to 27)
"Hundstorfer has the personal ambition never to repeat himself. He wants, he admits, and has always wanted to create something new, something original. Therefore, serial production in glassworks has always been too little for him. How does he see the future of glass art? Is it a craft threatened with extinction? He hopes it will continue. Galleries are increasingly lacking, furnaces are being dismantled. What is mainly lacking, however, is the general appreciation, collectors, and public collections. Hundstorfer is one of the last who has operated a furnace alone. The wonder chambers of the analog are at risk of being lost."
(Gregor AUENHAMMER)
"A visit to Helmut's workshop in my neighboring community of Kopfing was always an experience, and I could hardly resist the temptation to purchase a work of art in the gallery, which was so attractively designed by his wife Hermi. I then took some pieces to my office in the country house in Linz to prove that significant artists have always been and still are at home in our Schärding district."
(Friedrich BERNHOFER, pages 45 to 49)
"Hundstorfer is one of the most sought-after and well-known glass artists in Europe. His works are in famous collections and museums and in many private homes."
(Silvia NAGL, OÖ. Nachrichten, page 47)

"Hundstorfer is one of those great glass designers who continually extract new forms and light and color plays from this material, an artist with high technical skill, much imagination, and courage."
(Gallery Owner Hans HERRMANN, pages 51 to 53)
"Hundstorfer has opened that door which allows glass into the sphere of serious means of expression for human feelings."
(Gallery Owner Hans HERRMANN)
"My wife and I came into contact with the first Hundstorfer glasses in the mid-1990s. It is exciting to follow the development of an artist. This became particularly clear to me when photographing the objects for this book as the glasses were sorted by their date of creation."
(Erwin SCHÜTZ, collector and publisher of the book, pages 145 to 149)
"Through our many jointly attended national and international symposia, exhibitions, and fairs, I got to know artists from all over the world through Helmut. I was allowed to watch some of the world's best glassblowers at work. This has continually confirmed to me that Helmut is one of them."
(Gallery Owner Susanne STADLER, pages 163 to 165)
"After a longer renovation phase, I had my first really great workshop in my own house in Riedau in 1980. At that time, the sale of my objects was still not going very well. I always told my wife Hermi to be very friendly so she could get a lot of tips as a hairdresser in Wels. After a while, the breakthrough finally came, and I was able to hire Hermi as an employee. The initial fear of working together every day was unfounded. We were the perfect team. After my retirement, we moved to Schärding, where we have many friends. We feel very comfortable there and hope that this will be our last move."
(Helmut W. HUNDSTORFER, pages 203 to 209)
"Helmut W. Hundstorfer is also one of the glass pioneers of the old school. His versatility and creativity are expressed in his works. He was also fortunate to have his wife Hermi by his side."
(Gallery Owner Rudolf SCHNEEBERGER, pages 243 to 245)