Draft:Helga Vockenhuber

Helga Vockenhuber (* 1963 in Mondsee) Is an Austrian artist and sculptor. Her works are part of many public and private collections.

Biography
Helga Vockenhuber grew up with two siblings near Salzburg. After training as a dental technician, she became self-employed as a jewelry designer. In addition, she worked as a mold maker for the state of Upper Austria on the reproduction of important sculptures. For over three decades, Vockenhuber has devoted himself independently to free art creation. At intervals of about two years, she produces a new monumental sculpture.

She lives in Mondsee (Austria) and Pietrasanta (Tuscany, Italy), where she works on meter-high bronze sculptures in the studio.

Work
Vockenhuber's sculptures deal with the central questions of world religions and the path of the individual to inner peace and to himself. For her bronze work "Contemplation" she went in search of a spiritual sensuality of the human body and combined in it characteristic features of people of different origins. "I want to give everyday life a soul," she says, "and create things that change people's view of the world." Her art is about "overcoming the confusions of a society that has apparently banished the term soul from its cultural horizon," as Gerhard Zschock puts it in the book "Soli Deo Gloria". The symbolic universe of her art is concentrated around three spiritual axes: the face, the body and the cosmos. The figurativity of lilies and roses in the work of Vockenhuber refers to the insatiable desire for harmony by representing the cosmos. In the symbolism as well as in Italian culture, the lily is considered male and the rose is considered female. In the Christian context, the lily and the rose symbolize purity and innocence, fundamental themes that play a central role in Helga Vockenhuber's art. Her works strive to lead humanity on its way to inner serenity and self-discovery, with the aim of returning to the lost innocence and purity of paradise, where the roses still bloomed without thorns. This idea of a state of perfect harmony and innocence is supported by legends that say that the thorns came into the world only after the fall. Thus, in Vockenhuber's art, the longing for a return to this paradisiacal state is manifested by ensusing the viewers to overcome their own inner conflicts and to find the way to the original integrity and beauty of nature, of life.

Solo exhibitions (selection)

 * 2007: Contemplation, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg
 * 2009: L’eccesso e la misura, Arte & Città, San Giovanni in Persiceto, Bologna
 * 2010: I gigli, del Chiaro Artconnection, Lucca
 * 2013: I gigli del mare, Forte dei Marmi
 * 2014: Helga Vockenhuber - Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg
 * 2015: Il Dono dell’Armonia, Palazzo Piccolomini, Pienza / Villa Bardini und Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florenz
 * 2016: Helga Vockenhuber - contemplation, a spiritual dialogue of sculptures on the beauty and purity of flowers, Paul Smith, Hamburg
 * 2017: Helga Vockenhuber - Italian Seagroup, The Italian Sea Group, Marina di Carrara
 * 2018: 7. Schweizerische Triennale der Skulptur, Bad Ragaz
 * 2019: Gigli della Laguna, The Gritti Palace, Venedig
 * 2020: Würth and the Outdoor Arts, Museum Würth 2, Künzelsau
 * 2021: Kunst im Baummuseum, Enea Tree Museum, Rapperswil-Jona
 * 2023: Belonging. As part of the Architecture Biennale, Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venedig
 * 2023: le rose della mente, Fünf Höfe, München

Art fairs (selection)

 * 2007: Art Miami, Amerika
 * 2007: Shanghai Fine Jewellry & Art Fair, China
 * 2007: Moscow World Fine Arts Fair, Russland
 * 2008: Bridge Art Fair, New York, Amerika
 * 2008: Residenz Salzburg, Österreich
 * 2008: Art & Antiques, Dubai
 * 2008: Palm Beach 1 / Palm Beach 3 / Palm Beach 2 / Palm Beach 3; Amerika

Publications (selection)
Monographs and exhibition catalogues by or with the participation of the curator Giuseppe Cordoni:


 * Il Dono dell’Armonia. 2013
 * Soli Deo Gloria. 2013
 * L’anima trovata. 2013
 * Omaggio dei poeti versiliesi a Helga Vockenhuber. 2014
 * Ich möchte dem Alltag eine Seele geben. 2014

Web links

 * Website of Helga Vockenhuber
 * Exhibtion in venice in: Austrian Cultural Forum
 * Exhibtion in venice and interview und Interview (video, Italian) in: helgavockenhuber.com
 * Helga Vockenhuber — Belonging. In: Kunstbulletin.ch