Oswald Oberhuber (*1931 in Meran, South Tyrol, Italy; † 2020 in Vienna, Austria) is regarded as one of the most influential pioneers of Austrian postwar art. He shaped the art and cultural landscape not only as a painter and sculptor but also in his roles as gallerist, university professor and rector, stage designer, and furniture and fashion designer. Oberhuber’s interdisciplinary oeuvre—encompassing paintings, drawings, sculptures, and posters—is defined by his principle of “permanent change” and a deliberate avoidance of fixed stylistic classifications. After studying sculpture at the Federal Trade School Innsbruck (1945–1949), he continued at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in Fritz Wotruba’s class and at the State Academy Stuttgart under Willi Baumeister, with further study stays in Paris and Cologne. In 1964/65, together with Hans Hollein, Walter Pichler, and Gustav Peichl, he edited the architecture journal Bau; from 1964 he served as artistic advisor and from 1973 to 1978 directed Galerie nächst St. Stephan in Vienna. From 1973 to 1998 he was professor at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and held the office of rector from 1979 to 1987 and again from 1991 to 1995 ().
In 1972 Oberhuber represented Austria at the 38th Venice Biennale and went on to participate in documenta 6 (1977) and documenta 7 (1982) in Kassel; in 2013 he designed the “Iron Curtain” for the Vienna State Opera. His work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Basel (1973), MAK Vienna and SMAK Ghent (1987), Kulturhaus Graz (1993), the Vienna Secession and Tiroler Landesmuseum Innsbruck (2006), and Belvedere 21 Vienna (2016). His close ties to Galerie Krinzinger date back to its inaugural 1971 exhibition in Bregenz, “Aquarelle – Druckgrafik – Plastik,” followed by the 1986 opening show “Aug um Aug” in Vienna; the gallery now represents his estate and continues this shared tradition with the eighth solo exhibition “skulptur – malerei – zeichnung.” Oberhuber was honoured with the City of Vienna Prize for Fine Arts in 1978, the Tyrolean State Prize for Art and the State Prize for Foreign Cultural Relations in 1990, the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art in 2004, and the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art in 2016.
