This summer, the Kunsthal Rotterdam will be presenting the Netherlands' first major retrospective of the architectural models of artist and architect Hundertwasser (1928-2000). Well over 20 models and several dozen paintings epitomise his idiosyncratic and aberrant architectural ideas.
The exhibition examines his imaginative and multi-faceted designs. Friedrich Stowasser (born in Vienna, Austria, 1928), otherwise known as Friedensreich Hundertwasser, was initially acclaimed for his colourful paintings, performances and alternative lifestyle.
He developed his highly individualistic architectural concepts in the 1970s. The names he gave his designs - Eye-slit House, Terrace House, Spiral House - speak for themselves. Over the following decade Hundertwasser put his theories into practice, building fantastic architecture like a modern-day Antoni Gaudí. He conjured up, constructed and 'covered' several buildings, some imaginary.
According to Hundertwasser, the building process only starts when the residents actually move in. In the same way as slums evolve, people should make their own architecture.
As Hundertwasser sees it, colour in architecture is as important as it is in painting. He is thus invariably a painter transforming houses, defying the traditional clichés and standards of academic architecture. Ecology and fantasy are the principles underlying his designs. To many, his fairy-tale buildings are paradigms of beautiful architecture.
