Otto Prutscher. Universal Designer of Viennese Modernism

Prutscher worked as an architect and designer and engaged in all areas of the applied arts – from glass, metal and textile to designing furniture and interiors. He also worked as an exhibition designer and teacher and was a member of all the key art-reform movements, such as the Secession, the Wiener Werkstätte and the Werkbund.
To this day, this pupil of Josef Hoffmann’s often stands in the shadow of the great master and other renowned proponents of Viennese Modernism, such as Koloman Moser and Adolf Loos. Yet the incredible spectrum of objects Prutscher designed is unsurpassed, not least due to his compelling finely tuned sense of style. A detailed knowledge of his work is therefore imperative for a lasting understanding of Viennese Modernism.
The MAK – Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna boasts an extensive legacy of prints and signifi cant objects from Otto Prutscher’s design oeuvre. This publication provides an extensive reappraisal of his work in over 180 partly large-format illustrations and expert essays on specialised subjects.
Selected examples from his oeuvre, moreover, document his longstanding influential role as a designer and artistic advisor to arts and crafts producers, from Johan Loetz to Thonet.
Exactly seventy years after his death, this publication reappraises the work of Otto Prutscher and presents it in all its diversity. An exceptional artist of Viennese Modernism, well worth discovering.

Exhibition: MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna (AT), 20.11.2019 – 17.5.2020.