Auction House im Kinsky - April 20th, 2023
Special auction to benefit the Hundertwasser ship Die Regentag (The Rainy Day)
in cooperation with the Hundertwasser Non-Profit Private Foundation
To finance the renovation of the ship, 97 selected original works of graphic art and objects from the archives of the Hundertwasser Foundation will be put up for sale.
Hundertwasser’s original works of graphic art
"The selection was made from the archives of the Foundation for the preservation of the Die Regentag, but at the same time offers a review of Hundertwasser's graphic work with its extraordinary wealth of expressive possibilities," explains Andrea C. Fürst of the Hundertwasser Non-Profit Private Foundation. "Hundertwasser created colour versions and variants in his graphic editions and thus pursued the goal of producing unique pieces within one print run in accordance with the diversity of nature."
With the screen print 10002 Nights Homo Humus Come Va How Do You, Hundertwasser succeeded in designing each sheet in different colors in an edition of 10,002 copies – the result therefore being 10,0002 unique copies. Hundertwasser wrote: "The only difference to the hand-painted picture is that this unique piece was produced by printing technology and not with a brush in the hand." The edition of another mixed media graphic "In Gamba" consists of 905 different versions.
Fürst emphasizes: "These sheets have an extraordinary quality – they have been kept untouched in the archives since printing." Other highlights of the auction are Japanese woodblock prints and etchings, printed in small editions, as well as some proofs that have never been exhibited or published before.
The variety of techniques, the sophisticated printing processes and the colorful and luminous pictorial inventions so typical of the artist provide insight into Hundertwasser's magical world.
Lithographs, Japanese woodblock prints, etchings and screen prints come to auction from the Foundation's possession, as well as objects made of wood, glass and ceramics as well as unique coin objects.
Die Regentag
The entire proceeds of the auction will benefit Hundertwasser's ship Die Regentag. Fürst explains: "Die Regentag is not only a ship, but also a work of art by Hundertwasser, with its own work number 703." Hundertwasser bought the ship, built in 1910 in Palermo, in 1968. After conversions in the shipyards of Venice, he lived and worked for years on the Regentag. In 1976 he sailed with Captain Horst Wächter to New Zealand, where the ship anchored in the Bay of Islands. In 2004, Mayor Willi Stift had it brought to Tulln on the occasion of a Hundertwasser exhibition, where it has been located ever since. In 2015, the ship was placed under preservation order.
Fürst says: "For a long time, the ship was accessible in the harbour in Tulln, there were also trips happening on it. However, in 2017, the need for renovation became apparent, which turned out to be cost-intensive."
400,000 Euros have already been raised by the Hundertwasser Foundation for the renovation, 150,000 Euros more are needed for the remaining work. Fürst: "The auction arises from the need to provide the necessary funds for the completion of the renovation of the Die Regentag. The auction presents a unique opportunity to acquire prints and rare objects of this quality from the Foundation's archives."
Alexandra Markl
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
The artist, who died in 2000, is one of the internationally best-known artists of the 20th century. His international reputation is due to his painting and his prints, but also to his commitment to a more natural and humane architecture as well as his contribution to environmental protection.
Hundertwasser was committed to the preservation of our natural habitats, he pleaded for a waste-free society, initiated tree planting and greening campaigns and designed original posters in favor of environmental protection.
As early as 1971, he called for the "reforestation of cities" in a manifesto. Hundertwasser made it clear that the forestation of roofs and the greening of facades will be essential for the urban life of the future. Hundertwasser's warnings against the destruction of nature are of heightened relevance today.
The Auction
The proceeds of the auction will exclusively benefit the general renovation of the ship Die Regentag, which has been placed under preservation order by the Republic of Austria. For this occasion, the Auction House in Kinsky reduces its fees, and the resale right is omitted.
Auction on April 20, 5 pm
From 13 April 2023 visit to the auction house in Kinsky
Monday-Friday 10am-6pmSaturday & Sunday 10am-5pm
An extensive catalogue will be published for auction in German/English/Korean.