F as Fellin

Already the samples from his early years of training in 1937/38 at the school of applied art in Graz, where Alfred Wickenburg, Rudolf Syszkowitz, and Fritz Silberbauer introduced young Fellin to Austrian Expressionism, take up a core theme: Fellin’s self-reflection as an artist, first through self-portraits, then from a greater distance through Schöpfer [Creator(s)] and Schreiber [Writer(s)].
His schooling at the academy in Vienna under Herbert Boeckl in 1938/39 as well as the expressive years in Merano after the War, with ‘mystical’ figures that were reduced to almost iconic sanctity form a further phase.
The years 1953/54 marked a change not only for Fellin, but also for his close cultural surroundings, which sought to keep up with the international developments.
As of 1954, Schöpfer and Schreiber were the first works that visualized Fellin’s attempt to break away from the imitation of nature. The step from the simple outlines of these figures to the independent dark lines on a light background is only a small one and shall be made perceptible through the sequence of works in the exhibition.
The next section is devoted to the Schriftbilder [Pictures in Writing] from roughly 1955 to 1963. They show how Fellin dealt with artist figures, the interrelationship between music and visual arts, and how ‘signs’ gain independence. The international footage of this phase will be demonstrated by representative works, some of which are very large in format. The abstraction of the works will be associated with Fellin’s Manifest zur II. Natur [Manifest on the II. Nature] from 1959.
His turn to monochrome works in which deep spaces are created through soft tones constitute a further phase that mainly took place between 1963 and 1977. Subsequently, the Urformen [Archetypes] (1980 to 1983) ventured into three-dimensionality.
The Meditationsbilder [Meditation Images] then lead us back to the sculptures or to the large sculptures he called Feststellungen [Statements], which bring the exhibition to a close.

A separate section will be reserved for the often high-quality miniature works—almost like those collected by Fellin himself.

To conclude the exhibition itinerary, we will show the impressive film by Gottfried Deghenghi from 1997 that portraits Fellin as he reflects artistic principles and personal facts.

The exhibition at Merano arte will be held on behalf of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, South Tyrol, Department of German Culture.

In cooperation with Südtiroler Kulturinstitut (www.kulturinstitut.org), an extensive publication will accompany the exhibition (Athesia - Tappeiner, March, ISBN no. 978-88-8266-658-3 2010)

For further information on Peter Fellin, please visit: http://www.fellin.at/peter/