Up to 70 layers of paint applied one on top of the other create a color and spatial effect that changes with the viewing angle
© PR
© PR
Originality and spiritual tradition
Schaberl studied art education at Salzburg’s Mozarteum University and was awarded the first prize for original ideas in the international competition “Klangmaschinenwettbewerb” in Dornbirn, Austria, when he was only 23 years old. And with his current works he remains an educator — a gentle one. “Only those who search for a meaning will discover one.” These words of the Austrian dramatist Arthur Schnitzler adorn the halls of Vienna’s Leopold Museum, which in around 1900 were lavishly hung with the works of the vanished empire. And the Schnitzler quote could also be emblazoned above Schaberl’s work.
What’s more, when the words in Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s mouth crumbled in 1902 “like musty fungus,” this urtext of modernity also created a tangled weave of long lines within Austria’s intellectual history. Mushrooms and central forms — it looks straightforward. “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent,” as the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein encourages the process of extending the boundaries of cognitive thought.
With his motifs and techniques, Schaberl is clearly a member of another Austrian tradition. He takes the direct route to the subconscious and so clarifies the words of the Viennese psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who said the ego is not master in its own house. All are interpretations of the ancient exhortation “Know thyself!”, which can be found as a silent reminder above the doorways of many an educational institution.
Yet here too, Schaberl works in a more subtle way, even when using as his medium a gigantic work of art measuring around 3,700 square meters. The work, on around 2,400 glass panels, forms the front facade of the new Chemistry building of the Graz University of Technology. “I was very happy to win that international competition,” says Schaberl, looking back. “After all, in architecture the facade is of special importance for the visual impact of a building.”
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Rowing for the next picture
The work shows a molecule, whose circular atoms are visualized by means of a delicate application of Colorstream® pigments. “Depending on the positions of the sun and of the viewer, the colors vary between green and blue or rust-red.” The effect is dramatic. And while the viewer outside can hardly make out the people working behind the glass, their view from the interior is hardly affected at all. “Also,” adds Schaberl, “the incident light is almost neutral in color, which is important for the work in the laboratories of the new Chemistry building.”
Back in the studio, Schaberl sits down on the rowing machine once again, building up the musculature of his back to that he can take on more large-format works. The resistance he rows against is provided by a rotating, circular water tank — once again it is a matter of nature and central forms.
Schaberl studied art education at Salzburg’s Mozarteum University and was awarded the first prize for original ideas in the international competition “Klangmaschinenwettbewerb” in Dornbirn, Austria, when he was only 23 years old. And with his current works he remains an educator — a gentle one. “Only those who search for a meaning will discover one.” These words of the Austrian dramatist Arthur Schnitzler adorn the halls of Vienna’s Leopold Museum, which in around 1900 were lavishly hung with the works of the vanished empire. And the Schnitzler quote could also be emblazoned above Schaberl’s work.
What’s more, when the words in Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s mouth crumbled in 1902 “like musty fungus,” this urtext of modernity also created a tangled weave of long lines within Austria’s intellectual history. Mushrooms and central forms — it looks straightforward. “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent,” as the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein encourages the process of extending the boundaries of cognitive thought.
With his motifs and techniques, Schaberl is clearly a member of another Austrian tradition. He takes the direct route to the subconscious and so clarifies the words of the Viennese psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who said the ego is not master in its own house. All are interpretations of the ancient exhortation “Know thyself!”, which can be found as a silent reminder above the doorways of many an educational institution.
Yet here too, Schaberl works in a more subtle way, even when using as his medium a gigantic work of art measuring around 3,700 square meters. The work, on around 2,400 glass panels, forms the front facade of the new Chemistry building of the Graz University of Technology. “I was very happy to win that international competition,” says Schaberl, looking back. “After all, in architecture the facade is of special importance for the visual impact of a building.”
Graz University
Image {count} of {total}The work shows a molecule, whose circular atoms are visualized by means of a delicate application of Colorstream® pigments. “Depending on the positions of the sun and of the viewer, the colors vary between green and blue or rust-red.” The effect is dramatic. And while the viewer outside can hardly make out the people working behind the glass, their view from the interior is hardly affected at all. “Also,” adds Schaberl, “the incident light is almost neutral in color, which is important for the work in the laboratories of the new Chemistry building.”
Back in the studio, Schaberl sits down on the rowing machine once again, building up the musculature of his back to that he can take on more large-format works. The resistance he rows against is provided by a rotating, circular water tank — once again it is a matter of nature and central forms.
