Giselbert Hoke

(1927 – 2015)

Austria – Art after 1945 – Expressionism – Giselbert Hoke

Vita:

Even as a child, Giselbert Hoke was interested in the blacksmith trade. He was really passionate about this art. He tragically lost his right arm at the age of 17 during World War II. After successfully completing his studies after the war, he began to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. His professors and companions at the time were Robin Christian Andersen and Herbert Boeckl. Giselbert Hoke won the competition for the redesign of the station hall in Klagenfurt, which is now a listed building. The huge hall was divided into the east-facing “wall of the plaintiffs” and the west-facing “wall of the accused”. His work created at the time was heavily criticized, in addition to the format, the title, the colors and the form were strongly questioned by the population. This „work of art“ created by him caused the first major post-war art scandal. After this uproar and the negative mood towards his wall painting, he decided to turn his back on Klagenfurt and moved to Vienna. In 1962 he revised his move and returned to Carinthia. There he bought Saager Castle, renovated it and exhibited his paintings there for the first time. At the age of 47 he was appointed professor at the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University in Graz. He set up the Institute for Artistic Design at Rein Abbey and headed it for 20 years.

Work:

Giselbert Hoke’s work is characterized by his will to always try to find an independent path. In art it was precisely because of this attitude that he repeatedly reached the limits of acceptance. In the foreground of his work were female nudes and later landscapes. After the design of the station concourse in Klagenfurt, which parts of the population regarded as scandalous, Giselbert Hoke suddenly became known not only throughout the country, but also on an international level. Since 1958 he worked more and more with glass and glass walls were built for the parish of St. Florian in Vienna, for the farewell hall in Klagenfurt and at the university in Vienna. Giselbert Hoke increasingly became a so-called ascetic in the art world. He described his idea behind it with “Maybe there is a longing to get by with as little as possible”. He gave his late work, which was also his last, the title „Nada“. „Nada“ stands for nothing and emptiness. “I work without content. If you’ve worked with content for 60 years, the content is really sick. That’s all a blah ”.