Adolf Krischanitz

“Furniture as an independent, distant object without any particular spatial relationship, versus furniture as an artifact capable of dialogue, with a relationship to the space – that is the range of existing possibilities.” Adolf Krischanitz

Adolf Krischanitz counts among the few contemporary architects who design furniture parallel to their building projects. Apart from a few exceptions, they are developed from the building process occurring at the time. The interiors created during the architectural work are not merely an armchair, table, recliner, or lamp, they also serve as a constitutive part of the architectural space.
The body of work created over the last 30 years is a significant contribution to contemporary Austrian architectural history. While the designs reflect distinct tendencies – early postmodernist influences gave way to more radical attempts at connecting with Viennese furniture design traditions – they all have an essential feature in common: a masterful approach to materials, influenced by architects such as Adolf Loos, Josef Frank, and Josef Hoffmann.
It is noteworthy in this context that Krischanitz repeatedly seeks out opportunities to work with other architects (Otto Kapfinger, Hermann Czech) as well as artists (Oskar Putz, Gilbert Bretterbauer, Helmut Federle, Gerwald Rockenschaub). These periodic collaborations have led to unique design results that embody a sense of timelessness beyond current trends – despite, or perhaps because of, their materiality.

This exhibition focuses on the new furniture series “Bentwood,” which Krischanitz designed for Braun Lockenhaus. Also featured is the book “Adolf Krischanitz. Das Inventar ist das Ergebnis der Inventur / An Inventory of Invention” (224 pages, Album Publishers Vienna 2016), edited by Edelbert Köb, with contributions from Sebastian Hackenschmidt, Otto Kapfinger, Marcel Meili, and Adolf Krischanitz.