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Description
Karl Nowak*
(Vienna 1942 – 2020 Vienna)
Composition, 1993
wood 9 x 21 x 13 cm
signed K. Nowak, dated 1993
ESTIMATE €200 – €400
STARTING PRICE €200
Karl Nowak was an Austrian sculptor. After finishing school, Nowak – whose uncles were wood sculptors, inlay carvers and button makers – completed his apprenticeship as a mechanic. He was particularly inspired by his uncles’ work; he built the first machines and tools for them. He saw himself as an heir to the Svoboda spirit and was interested in historical technology, crafts and art. He brought back wood and stone from his professional trips and mountain hikes. Another passion of his was photography. In 1975, after attending a sculpture symposium at the Bernstein quarry, Karl Novak began sculpting as a self-taught artist, initially in stone. He later began working with wood. In 1983, he moved into his first studio in Vienna. He joined the Lukasgilde artists’ community and the Klosterneuburger Künstlerbund, and took part in numerous exhibitions. He left his profession as a mechanic in 1989 and became a freelance sculptor. In 1990, Novak joined the Professional Association of Austrian Visual Artists and the Mödlinger Artists’ Association, and in 1992 the Artists’ Association of Austrian Sculptors. In 2006, Novak became President of the Professional Association of Austrian Visual Artists and, in this role, was dedicated to the association and its members for a decade. In 2018, Karl Novak stopped working on large sculptures and continued to create smaller objects. He used this time to research his extensive archive on Austrian sculpture and photography. Works in public spaces: 1996 stone fountain at the Ybbs-Persenbieg Danube hydroelectric power station; 1999 sculpture ‘Guardian of the Au’ at the Freudenau Danube hydroelectric power station; 2002 memorial to the former synagogue in Mödling, Lower Austria; Work involving sacred symbolism, etc., for the parish of St Josef in Mauer, the parish of Wischatal and the parish of Göllersdorf. Honours: 1993 Theodor Körner Prize for the promotion of science and art; 2017 Golden Medal of Honour for services to the Republic of Austria. Memberships: 1990–2020 BV Professional Association of Austrian Visual Artists (President 2006–2016); 1990–2020 Mödling Artists’ Association; 1992–2015 Artists’ Association of Austrian Sculptors; 1990–1999 BVÖ Federal Association of Fine Artists of Austria (now IG Bildende Kunst); in the 1980s, the Klosterneuburg Artists’ Association and St Luke’s Guild. Other artists and styles: Alois Ljubic, Franz Xaver Ölzant, Heimo Zobernig, Hubert Schmalix, Fritz Wotruba
PLEASE NOTE:
The purchase price comprises the highest bid plus the buyer’s premium, VAT and, where applicable, the artists’ resale rights fee and platform fee. In the case of standard taxation (marked °), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The statutory sales tax of 13 per cent (20 per cent for photographs) is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer’s premium and the platform fee.
The buyer’s premium amounts to 28 per cent in the case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.
See original version (German)
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Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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