Hans Bischoffshausen

1927 Feld am See - 1987 Villach

Hans Bischoffshausen was born in Feld am See in Carinthia in 1927. In 1947 he began studying architecture in Graz. Shortly afterwards, he switched to painting. In his early works, he was influenced by Paul Klee. He had a lifelong friendship with Lucio Fontana since 1957. Bischoffshausen always chose a reduced formal language and experimented in the choice of materials. The artist spent the period from 1959 to 1971 in Paris and joined the group "Zero". His oeuvre was accompanied by self-written philosophical writings. Every artistic act was questioned. In his structural reliefs, he approached the limits of the visible. In 1972 he came back to Villach. A lively exhibition activity at home and abroad has accompanied him since his early years: among others 1966 in The Hague, 1977 a retrospective in the Neue Galerie Linz and 1991 a retrospective in the Carinthian State Gallery. Hans Bischoffshausen died in Villach in 1987.