KunstHausWien

Hundertwasser

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KunstHausWien

Suitable premises for a permanent exhibition of Hundertwasser's paintings were found in the third district of Vienna, the building of the former furniture factory of the Thonet Brothers, built in 1892. The size of the building made it possible not only to establish a Hundertwasser museum, but also to include rooms for alternating exhibitions of international stature in the planning.The rebuilding, which involved integrating two buildings, was carried out from 1989 to 1991, with the Bank for Labour and Business (Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft), under its General Manager Walter Flöttl, acting as building sponsor. Hundertwasser was careful to leave the building's fabric untouched as far as possible. Towards the street, an extension was added whose front bay windows provide additional light to the exhibition rooms; on the courtyard side a glass-walled stairwell was added.

On April 9, 1991 KunstHausWien was officially opened; it is managed as a private business, without any public funding or tax money. The total exhibition space comes to about 4,000 sq.m. On the ground floor there are the Museum Shop and a café/restaurant, apart from the cashier's and coat-check booths. On the first two upper floors a cross-section of Hundertwasser's uvre is on display, including painting, graphics, tapestries and architectural models. The third and fourth floors are reserved for the international exhibitions.

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