Ernst Hilger
Encyclopedia
Ernst Hilger is not only a curator
but also the owner and founder of Hilger modern/contemporary and Hilger BrotKunsthalle.
A gallerist is a philanthropic mediator
. He goes around the world, seeking for something new and that takes his fancy.
He wants to provide a platform for emerging and established artists at the same time - and also to give a glimpse into contemporary art
worlds and cultures like Iran
, Africa
, Latin America
and so on – countries that we encounter almost daily in the media but we know nothing about their art world. Ernst Hilger makes decisions based on his extensive knowledge and insight into the art market, the international and national art world and researches onsite in various cities, art hotspots - established and up and coming ones as well as less known places.
Elementary school, secondary school (at Theresianum
, Rainergasse, Vienna)
High-school diploma in 1968
Studied business administration (Vienna University of Economics and Business
)
Began working as official for cultural and other events
Founded and managed Atlantis Folklokal, parallel to his university studies
Drew up program for Zentralsparkasse's Youth Club
Founded the students' edition "édition étudiante"
1971: Founding shareholder of Galerie Academia/Salzburg
1972: Founding shareholder of Galerie Spectrum
1974: Co-publisher of GALERIENSPIEGEL, the first Austrian art magazine, together with Paul Kruntorad; important art critics, such as Liesbeth Wächter-Böhm, for example, had their first opportunity here to publish their comprehensive art reviews;
1976: Started his own art gallery at Dorotheergasse
1977: Began to publish
Since 1996 increased promotional activities for young artists,
together with Siemens Austria
Founded artLab
1997: Expanded the program to Central Europe
, with artists such as Mihael Milunovic
, Maja Vukoje, Renata Poljak, etc.
1997: founding the internet-magazine for art www.artmagazine.cc
2003: opening des hilger contemporary, plattform for international contemporary art
Kuratorische Leitung des Projekts Austrian Art Lounge der Austrian Airlines
Präsident der FEAGA (Europ. Galerieverband) bis 1997
2009 opening of HilgerBROTKunsthalle
.
Next, H. C. Artmann
and Uwe Bremer: "die Heimholung des Hammers" (Bringing the hammer back home)
Alfred Hrdlicka
– Register of art works from prints and graphics to sculpture and writings, more exhibition catalogues and catalogues on various topics:
Museum Moderner Kunst Passau, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Vienna Künstlerhaus
.
Karl Korab – Register of graphic works, together with Dr. Walter Koschatzky (1982) and monography with Dr. Assmann and Prof. Dr. Ronte (1999).
Gunter Damisch (Museum catalogue for the Museum Folkwang
, Essen).
Franz Ringel, commissioned by the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach; Hans Staudacher (for the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach
); Georg Eisler
(3 catalogues and the big monography for Österreichische Galerie Oberes Belevedere, catalogue and book for Albertina
and Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach
); Karl Korab (for the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach); Christian Attersee
(for the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach); Alfred Hrdlicka
(for the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach) 1998, 2002.
Amor Roma, commissioned by the Museum for Modern Art, together Lorand Hegyi as author.
Contemporary Art from Rome, Leo Zogmayer, Nikolaus Moser
(exhibition catalogue for Folkwang Museum Essen)
Sebastian Weissenbacher, Hans Fronius
, Adolf Frohner – among other things: Albertina catalogue.
Christian Ludwig Attersee, Oscar Bottolo (register of works)
The Art of Bronze Casting – The Zöttl Studio.
Etchings – The Kurt Zein Studio.
Central – New Art from Central Europe, (5)
Register of works by Mel Ramos
.
Numerous publications for artLab – An initiative by Siemens Austria and Galerie Ernst Hilger.
Publications on contemporary artists (France and Italy): Sandro Chia
, Bruno Ceccobelli, Tirelli, Pizzi Canella and artists of Figuration Narrative – Erró
, Gérard Fromanger
, Peter Klasen, Jacques Monory
, Bernard Rancillac.
, Paris
, with Lorand Hegyi as curator, 1990.
Master works of Albertina at Grand Palais – Special showing at SAGA Paris, 1989.
4x4 Generations of Austrian Art, Düsseldorf, 1990, together with Dr. Lorand Hegyi, Dr. Dieter Schrage, Prof. Peter Baum.
SERVUS – 5 Artists from Austria, at Mannheimer Kunstverein, 1997.
Infeld Collection 1 – 3; Portrait of a Collection, at Landesgalerie Eisenstadt
.
Art and Virtual Reality – The Collection of Bank Austria
, Palais Harrach, 1998; Poliakoff from the Würth Collection, Künstlerhaus, Vienna, 1998.
Moser, Wölzl, Zogmayer – Künstlerhaus, Vienna.
Leo Zogmayer at the Museum of Modern Art/Liechtenstein
, curator Lorand Hegyi, 1990.
7 exhibitions in the course of the Bank Austria/trend-profil series of exhibitions at the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach, Österreichische Galerie Oberes Belvedere and Albertina
at the Austrian National Library
, 1997 to 2002 (Georg Eisler, Karl Korab, Franz Ringel, Christian Ludwig Attersee, Alfred Hrdlicka, Hans Staudacher).
"Wagnis Wagner" (Venturing Wagner), together with Alfred Hrdilicka, Meiningen 2002.
Central – New Art from Central Europe at Museumsquartier
, curators Carl Aginer and Lorand Hegyi, 2001
Alfred Hrdilicak at the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach, curator Peter Baum.
Central Europe revisited I+II at Castle Esterházy/ Eisenstadt 2006/2007
tbc…
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
but also the owner and founder of Hilger modern/contemporary and Hilger BrotKunsthalle.
A gallerist is a philanthropic mediator
Mediator
Mediator may refer to:*A neutral party who assists in negotiations and conflict resolution, the process being known as mediation*Mediator variable in statistics*The Mediator pattern in computer science...
. He goes around the world, seeking for something new and that takes his fancy.
He wants to provide a platform for emerging and established artists at the same time - and also to give a glimpse into contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
worlds and cultures like Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and so on – countries that we encounter almost daily in the media but we know nothing about their art world. Ernst Hilger makes decisions based on his extensive knowledge and insight into the art market, the international and national art world and researches onsite in various cities, art hotspots - established and up and coming ones as well as less known places.
Biography
Born on 28 February 1950 in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
Elementary school, secondary school (at Theresianum
Theresianum
This article is about the Theresian Academy in Vienna. For other uses of Theresianum, see Theresianum .Theresianum is a private boarding school governed by the laws for public schools in Vienna, which was founded by Maria Theresa of Austria in 1746.-History:-1...
, Rainergasse, Vienna)
High-school diploma in 1968
Studied business administration (Vienna University of Economics and Business
Vienna University of Economics and Business
Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien or Vienna University of Economics and Business is the largest University focusing on business and economics in Europe and, in terms of student body, one of the largest universities in Austria...
)
Began working as official for cultural and other events
Founded and managed Atlantis Folklokal, parallel to his university studies
Drew up program for Zentralsparkasse's Youth Club
Founded the students' edition "édition étudiante"
1971: Founding shareholder of Galerie Academia/Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
1972: Founding shareholder of Galerie Spectrum
1974: Co-publisher of GALERIENSPIEGEL, the first Austrian art magazine, together with Paul Kruntorad; important art critics, such as Liesbeth Wächter-Böhm, for example, had their first opportunity here to publish their comprehensive art reviews;
1976: Started his own art gallery at Dorotheergasse
1977: Began to publish
Since 1996 increased promotional activities for young artists,
together with Siemens Austria
Founded artLab
1997: Expanded the program to Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
, with artists such as Mihael Milunovic
Mihael Milunovic
Mihael Milunović is a Serbian, French and Croatian painter working in many different media, using them and interconnecting them, such as painting, photography, sculpture, installation, sound, video and objects. His main interests focus on social and political issues, as well as on the phenomenon...
, Maja Vukoje, Renata Poljak, etc.
1997: founding the internet-magazine for art www.artmagazine.cc
2003: opening des hilger contemporary, plattform for international contemporary art
Kuratorische Leitung des Projekts Austrian Art Lounge der Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines is the flag carrier airline of Austria, headquartered in Office Park 2 on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat, Wien-Umgebung and a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Together with regional subsidiary Tyrolean Airways and charter arm Lauda Air, it operates...
Präsident der FEAGA (Europ. Galerieverband) bis 1997
2009 opening of HilgerBROTKunsthalle
Publications of Verlag Galerie Ernst Hilger about and together with
In 1976, first publication together with Manfred Chobot, and with illustrations by Alfred HrdlickaAlfred Hrdlicka
Alfred Hrdlicka was an Austrian sculptor, draughtsman, painter and artist. His surname is sometimes written Hrdlička.After learning to be a dental technician from 1943 to 1945, Hrdlicka studied painting until 1952 at the Akademie der bildenden Künste under Albert Paris Gütersloh and Josef...
.
Next, H. C. Artmann
H. C. Artmann
Hans Carl Artmann , also known as Ib Hansen, was an Austria-born poet and writer, most popular for his early poems written in Viennese , which however never after were to be the focus of his oeuvre.-Life and work:Artmann was born in Vienna as the son of shoe...
and Uwe Bremer: "die Heimholung des Hammers" (Bringing the hammer back home)
Alfred Hrdlicka
Alfred Hrdlicka
Alfred Hrdlicka was an Austrian sculptor, draughtsman, painter and artist. His surname is sometimes written Hrdlička.After learning to be a dental technician from 1943 to 1945, Hrdlicka studied painting until 1952 at the Akademie der bildenden Künste under Albert Paris Gütersloh and Josef...
– Register of art works from prints and graphics to sculpture and writings, more exhibition catalogues and catalogues on various topics:
Museum Moderner Kunst Passau, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Vienna Künstlerhaus
Vienna Künstlerhaus
The Vienna Künstlerhaus is an art exhibition building in Vienna. It is located on Karlsplatz near the Ringstraße, next to the Musikverein....
.
Karl Korab – Register of graphic works, together with Dr. Walter Koschatzky (1982) and monography with Dr. Assmann and Prof. Dr. Ronte (1999).
Gunter Damisch (Museum catalogue for the Museum Folkwang
Museum Folkwang
Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th and 20th century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patron Karl Ernst Osthaus in Hagen, founded in 1901.The term...
, Essen).
Franz Ringel, commissioned by the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach; Hans Staudacher (for the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach
Palais Harrach
Palais Harrach is a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria. It was owned by the noble Harrach family. It was extensively renovated and restored in the late 1990s and houses offices and shops today.-History:From 1600 to 1658, it was property of Freyung family...
); Georg Eisler
Georg Eisler
Georg Eisler was an Austrian painter from the school of Oskar Kokoschka who lived from 1928 to 1998. His father Hanns Eisler was a composer and his mother Charlotte Eisler, née Demant a well-known singer and music teacher....
(3 catalogues and the big monography for Österreichische Galerie Oberes Belevedere, catalogue and book for Albertina
Albertina
The Albertina is a museum in Vienna, Austria, containing the world's best collection of old master prints and drawings.Albertina, a feminine adjectival form of Albert , may also refer to:...
and Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach
Palais Harrach
Palais Harrach is a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria. It was owned by the noble Harrach family. It was extensively renovated and restored in the late 1990s and houses offices and shops today.-History:From 1600 to 1658, it was property of Freyung family...
); Karl Korab (for the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach); Christian Attersee
Christian Attersee
Christian Ludwig Attersee Christian Ludwig Attersee Christian Ludwig Attersee (born Christian Ludwig on 28 August 1940 in Bratislava is an Austrian artist.-Biography:After he had spent his youth in Upper Austria (also at the Attersee, that's where his artist's name comes from), Attersee began...
(for the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach); Alfred Hrdlicka
Alfred Hrdlicka
Alfred Hrdlicka was an Austrian sculptor, draughtsman, painter and artist. His surname is sometimes written Hrdlička.After learning to be a dental technician from 1943 to 1945, Hrdlicka studied painting until 1952 at the Akademie der bildenden Künste under Albert Paris Gütersloh and Josef...
(for the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach) 1998, 2002.
Amor Roma, commissioned by the Museum for Modern Art, together Lorand Hegyi as author.
Contemporary Art from Rome, Leo Zogmayer, Nikolaus Moser
Nikolaus Moser
Nikolaus Moser is a Austrian tennis player playing on the ATP Challenger Tour. On October 4, 2010, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of World No. 401, whilst his highest doubles ranking of 183 was reached on November 8, 2010....
(exhibition catalogue for Folkwang Museum Essen)
Sebastian Weissenbacher, Hans Fronius
Hans Fronius
Hans Fronius was an Austrian painter and illustrator.He was born in Sarajevo, which was then a territory of Austria-Hungary . His father was descended from an old, aristocratic Transylvanian Saxon family [see Fronius]...
, Adolf Frohner – among other things: Albertina catalogue.
Christian Ludwig Attersee, Oscar Bottolo (register of works)
The Art of Bronze Casting – The Zöttl Studio.
Etchings – The Kurt Zein Studio.
Central – New Art from Central Europe, (5)
Register of works by Mel Ramos
Mel Ramos
Mel Ramos is a U.S. figurative painter, whose work incorporates elements of realist and abstract art. Born in Sacramento, California, he gained his greatest popularity in association with the Pop Art movement of the 1960s....
.
Numerous publications for artLab – An initiative by Siemens Austria and Galerie Ernst Hilger.
Publications on contemporary artists (France and Italy): Sandro Chia
Sandro Chia
Sandro Chia is an Italian painter and sculptor.A native of Florence, he was a key member of the Italian Transavanguardia movement, along with fellow countrymen Francesco Clemente, Mimmo Paladino, Nicola De Maria, and Enzo Cucchi....
, Bruno Ceccobelli, Tirelli, Pizzi Canella and artists of Figuration Narrative – Erró
Erró
Erró is a postmodern artist. He studied art in Norway and in Italy, and has resided in Paris, Thailand and on the island of Formentera for most of his life...
, Gérard Fromanger
Gérard Fromanger
Gérard Fromanger is a French artist born on 6 September 1939 in Jouars-Pontchartrain, Yvelines. A painter who has also used collage, sculpture, photography, cinema and lithography, he is associated with the French artistic movement of the 1960s and 1970s called Figuration Narrative , somewhat like...
, Peter Klasen, Jacques Monory
Jacques Monory
Jacques Monory is a French painter, living in Cachan.Monory was one of the first painters of the French figuration narrative movement in the 1960s.-References:* . Luxembourg National Museum of History and Art. Accessed 2011-01-05....
, Bernard Rancillac.
International Museums – Exhibitions and Exhibitions of Austrian Art with Publications
Surface Radical – Young Artists from Austria at Grand PalaisGrand Palais
This article contains material abridged and translated from the French and Spanish Wikipedia.The Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées, commonly known as the Grand Palais , is a large historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, with Lorand Hegyi as curator, 1990.
Master works of Albertina at Grand Palais – Special showing at SAGA Paris, 1989.
4x4 Generations of Austrian Art, Düsseldorf, 1990, together with Dr. Lorand Hegyi, Dr. Dieter Schrage, Prof. Peter Baum.
SERVUS – 5 Artists from Austria, at Mannheimer Kunstverein, 1997.
Infeld Collection 1 – 3; Portrait of a Collection, at Landesgalerie Eisenstadt
Eisenstadt
- Politics :The current mayor of Eisenstadt is Andrea Fraunschiel ÖVP.The district council is composed as follows :* ÖVP: 17 seats* SPÖ: 8 seats* Austrian Green Party: 2 seats* FPÖ: 2 seats- Castles and palaces :...
.
Art and Virtual Reality – The Collection of Bank Austria
Bank Austria
UniCredit Bank Austria AG is a Central and Eastern European bank, 96.35% owned by UniCredit Group.BA-CA's history goes as far back as 1855, the year the Creditanstalt was founded. In 1991, Zentralsparkasse und Kommerzialbank and Oesterreichische Laenderbank merged to form Bank Austria. In 1997,...
, Palais Harrach, 1998; Poliakoff from the Würth Collection, Künstlerhaus, Vienna, 1998.
Moser, Wölzl, Zogmayer – Künstlerhaus, Vienna.
Leo Zogmayer at the Museum of Modern Art/Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
, curator Lorand Hegyi, 1990.
7 exhibitions in the course of the Bank Austria/trend-profil series of exhibitions at the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach, Österreichische Galerie Oberes Belvedere and Albertina
Albertina
The Albertina is a museum in Vienna, Austria, containing the world's best collection of old master prints and drawings.Albertina, a feminine adjectival form of Albert , may also refer to:...
at the Austrian National Library
Austrian National Library
The Austrian National Library , is the largest library in Austria, with 7.4 million items in its collections. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna; since 2005 some of the collections are located in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary...
, 1997 to 2002 (Georg Eisler, Karl Korab, Franz Ringel, Christian Ludwig Attersee, Alfred Hrdlicka, Hans Staudacher).
"Wagnis Wagner" (Venturing Wagner), together with Alfred Hrdilicka, Meiningen 2002.
Central – New Art from Central Europe at Museumsquartier
Museumsquartier
The Museumsquartier is a 60,000 m² large area in the 7th district of the city of Vienna, Austria; it is the eighth largest cultural area in the world. The Museumsquartier contains Baroque buildings as well as Modern architecture by the architects Laurids and Manfred Ortner . The renovation of the...
, curators Carl Aginer and Lorand Hegyi, 2001
Alfred Hrdilicak at the Museum of Art History/Palais Harrach, curator Peter Baum.
Central Europe revisited I+II at Castle Esterházy/ Eisenstadt 2006/2007
tbc…
Important Positions
- Founding member of the Association of Austrian Galleries of Modern Art, together with Herbert Grass.
- 1987–1993: Member of the Artistic Advisory Council of Art BaselArt BaselArt Basel is an international contemporary art fair held each June in Basel, Switzerland. Similar to the Venice Biennale, it has been called "the Olympics of the art world". Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa...
for AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
- 1998/1999: Member of the Bank Austria Artistic Advisory Council
- Since 1996: Artistic Director and Curator of Siemens Austria Collection and Siemens Sponsoring Program for Young Art
- Since 1996: Member of the Artistic Advisory Council of Wiener Kunstmesse at the Museum for Applied Arts
- 1986–1998: Chairman of the Association of Austrian Galleries of Modern Art
- 1998: Curator of the Festival Exhibitions, Eisenstadt
- 1999: Member of the Artistic Advisory Council of the SCA Art Jury
- 2003: Chairman of the Association of European Galleries of Modern Art
Galleries
- Since 1971 in Vienna
- 1987–1993: outlet in Frankfurt
- Since 1998: outlet in Paris to promote Austrian modern and young art
- Since 1998: artLab – An initiative by Siemens Austria and Galerie Ernst Hilger
- Since 2009: BROTKunsthalle
Awards and Honors
- 1996 - Award by the City of Vienna
- 2000 - Professor title in honor (by the cultural ministry of Austria)
- 2002 - Officier Ordre des Arts et des LettresOrdre des Arts et des LettresThe Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
- 2009 - golden Grand-Award by the City of Vienna