Hans Aeschbacher
Hans Aeschbacher | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 January 1906 |
| Died | 27 January 1980 (aged 74) Uster, Switzerland |
| Known for | Sculpture |
| Notable work | Abstract Faces (1945), Explorer I (1964) |
Hans Aeschbacher (18 January 1906 – 27 January 1980) was a Swiss abstract sculptor. After an unfinished apprenticeship as a printer, he qualified as a master stucco plasterer and taught himself to draw and paint before turning to sculpture in the 1930s. His work developed from figurative pieces in plaster and terra-cotta to monumental abstract stone forms, with public sculptures installed in Switzerland and internationally.[1][2][3][4]
Biography
[edit]Hans Aeschbacher was born on 18 January 1906 in Zurich, the son of Johann, a mechanic, and grew up in the city’s industrial quarter.[3][4] After completing compulsory schooling, he trained as a printer but did not finish the apprenticeship.[3][4] In 1926 he traveled to Rome and Florence, where he drew monuments and figure studies.[3][4] Returning to Zurich, he qualified as a master plasterer while continuing to draw and paint in his free time.[4]
Aeschbacher created his first sculptural works in 1934.[3] Between 1939 and 1941 he received a Swiss federal art scholarship, and around this time developed friendships with the artist Hans Fischli and the patron Willi Blattmann.[3] In 1947 he won the Conrad Ferdinand Meyer Prize with the granite sculpture Züka-Stier, and married his second wife, Rose Aimée Cuendet.[3][4] From 1947 to 1964 he lived in Six-Fours-la-Plage in southern France, where he created many of his major sculptures.[4]
In 1956 he married his third wife, Maja Ingeborg Friemuth, with whom he had three daughters.[3][4] The family settled in Russikon, in the Zurich Oberland, in 1965.[4] Aeschbacher was awarded the Hans Arp Prize in 1966, the honorary gift of the Canton of Zurich in 1973, and the Art Prize of the City of Zurich in 1977.[3] He died on 27 January 1980 in Uster.[3][4]
Work
[edit]Aeschbacher’s earliest pieces, created in the 1930s, were figurative works in plaster and terra-cotta, but by 1945 he was working primarily in stone.[1][2][4] His style developed toward abstract and geometrical forms, often monumental in scale.[1][2][3] In the mid-1950s he began using volcanic rock, which gave his sculptures a more fluid quality, though by the late 1950s he returned to large, angular forms, some reaching 4.5 metres in height.[1][2] Among his public works is Explorer I (1964) at Zurich Airport,[1][2] along with sculptures installed in Zurich, Winterthur, Bern, Otterlo, and Hakone.[4]
Selected exhibitions
[edit]- 1944 – Kunsthaus Zürich, first participation in an exhibition[4]
- 1952 – Helmhaus Zürich, with paintings by Hans Fischli[4]
- 1956 – Venice Biennale[4]
- 1959 – documenta 2, Kassel[4]
- 1961 – Kunsthalle Bern, first major solo exhibition, curated by Harald Szeemann[4]
- 1964 – Venice Biennale[4]
- 1964 – documenta 3, Kassel[4]
- 1972 – Strauhof Zürich, retrospective of drawings (1924–1971)[4]
- 1985 – Kunsthaus Zürich, major retrospective[4]
- 1986 – Mendrisio, continuation of the Zürich retrospective[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Aeschbacher, Hans". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
- ^ a b c d e "Hans Aeschbacher". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bhattacharya, Tapan (30 April 2001). "HansAeschbacher". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS). Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Miesch, Barbara (2012). "Hans Aeschbacher". SIKART Lexikon zur Kunst in der Schweiz. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
