Peter Pongratz

← back to archive list

Artwork request

Peter PONGRATZ was born on May 22, 1940 in Eisen­stadt. From 1960 to 1963 he stud­ied at the Acad­e­my of Fine Arts in Vien­na. A year-long study at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Fine Arts in Berlin fol­lowed. In 1966 (until 1970) Peter Pon­gratz took up a teach­ing posi­tion with Max Weil­er at the Acad­e­my of Fine Arts. There he met Martha Jung­wirth, Wolf­gang Herzig, Kurt Kocher­schei­dt, Franz Ringel and Robert Zep­pel-Sperl. In May 1968 the group opened the exhi­bi­tion “Real­i­ties” in the Vien­na Seces­sion, an exhi­bi­tion that went down in Aus­tri­an art his­to­ry. After study­ing for sev­er­al months in Paris in 1968, he went to Venice for sev­er­al years in 1974. Fur­ther study trips take him again and again to France and Italy. Study trips to Aus­tralia and the South Seas fol­lowed in 1978. From 1972 Pon­gratz began to occu­py him­self with the the­ater, in 1979 he inten­si­fied this occu­pa­tion and many sets and film sets were cre­at­ed. In 1980 Pon­gratz spent the sum­mer in Dal­ma­tia, on the island of Korču­la, for the first time. In the fol­low­ing years the artist stayed there for sev­er­al months to work (2000 com­ple­tion of his stu­dio on Korču­la). In 1988 he leads a paint­ing class at the Inter­na­tion­al Sum­mer Acad­e­my in Salzburg. In 2005 the artist designed the 21-vol­ume anthol­o­gy “Land­ver­gabe — Öster­re­ichis­che Lit­er­atur 1945–2005” for Res­i­denz Ver­lag. Peter Pon­gratz takes part in numer­ous exhi­bi­tions at home and abroad and has received numer­ous hon­ors and awards, includ­ing the Prize for Fine Arts of the Province of Bur­gen­land (1977), the City of Vien­na Prize for Fine Arts, cat­e­go­ry paint­ing and graph­ics, the Aus­tri­an Appre­ci­a­tion Award for Fine Arts (1980), the Appre­ci­a­tion Award of the State of Styr­ia for Fine Arts (1997) and the Gold­en Medal of Hon­or of the Fed­er­al Cap­i­tal Vien­na (2006). Pon­gratz — painter, musi­cian, stage design­er and author — is fas­ci­nat­ed by the free, undis­guised and authen­tic art of chil­dren, the men­tal­ly ill and indige­nous peo­ples, paint­ing not accord­ing to nature, but accord­ing to feel­ing. The artist lives and works in Vien­na and on Korču­la. 1979 — first exhi­bi­tion par­tic­i­pa­tion, 1988 — first solo exhi­bi­tion at Galerie Welz.

Peter PONGRATZ was born on May 22, 1940 in Eisen­stadt. From 1960 to 1963 he stud­ied at the Acad­e­my of Fine Arts in Vien­na. A year-long study at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Fine Arts in Berlin fol­lowed. In 1966 (until 1970) Peter Pon­gratz took up a teach­ing posi­tion with Max Weil­er at the Acad­e­my of Fine Arts. There he met Martha Jung­wirth, Wolf­gang Herzig, Kurt Kocher­schei­dt, Franz Ringel and Robert Zep­pel-Sperl. In May 1968 the group opened the exhi­bi­tion “Real­i­ties” in the Vien­na Seces­sion, an exhi­bi­tion that went down in Aus­tri­an art his­to­ry. After study­ing for sev­er­al months in Paris in 1968, he went to Venice for sev­er­al years in 1974. Fur­ther study trips take him again and again to France and Italy. Study trips to Aus­tralia and the South Seas fol­lowed in 1978. From 1972 Pon­gratz began to occu­py him­self with the the­ater, in 1979 he inten­si­fied this occu­pa­tion and many sets and film sets were cre­at­ed. In 1980 Pon­gratz spent the sum­mer in Dal­ma­tia, on the island of Korču­la, for the first time. In the fol­low­ing years the artist stayed there for sev­er­al months to work (2000 com­ple­tion of his stu­dio on Korču­la). In 1988 he leads a paint­ing class at the Inter­na­tion­al Sum­mer Acad­e­my in Salzburg. In 2005 the artist designed the 21-vol­ume anthol­o­gy “Land­ver­gabe — Öster­re­ichis­che Lit­er­atur 1945–2005” for Res­i­denz Ver­lag. Peter Pon­gratz takes part in numer­ous exhi­bi­tions at home and abroad and has received numer­ous hon­ors and awards, includ­ing the Prize for Fine Arts of the Province of Bur­gen­land (1977), the City of Vien­na Prize for Fine Arts, cat­e­go­ry paint­ing and graph­ics, the Aus­tri­an Appre­ci­a­tion Award for Fine Arts (1980), the Appre­ci­a­tion Award of the State of Styr­ia for Fine Arts (1997) and the Gold­en Medal of Hon­or of the Fed­er­al Cap­i­tal Vien­na (2006). Pon­gratz — painter, musi­cian, stage design­er and author — is fas­ci­nat­ed by the free, undis­guised and authen­tic art of chil­dren, the men­tal­ly ill and indige­nous peo­ples, paint­ing not accord­ing to nature, but accord­ing to feel­ing. The artist lives and works in Vien­na and on Korču­la. 1979 — first exhi­bi­tion par­tic­i­pa­tion, 1988 — first solo exhi­bi­tion at Galerie Welz.

← back to archive list