Maria Baumgartner (born March 13, 1952 in Königswiesen, Austria) is an Austrian studio potter and was professor of ceramics at the University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz.
From 1972 to 1979 Maria Baumgartner studied ceramics at the University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz and graduated as Master of Fine Arts. 1980 she founded her first studio near Lienz/ Tirol and worked there as freelance artist until 2014. 1986 she additionally started working as Assistant professor at the University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz and continued her career there as Associate professor until her retirement in 2014. 2015 she founded a new studio in Puchenau near Linz. Besides being artist and professor she also acted as curator and academic author in the field of ceramic art.
As artist she won awards, prizes and grants in Austria, Germany, Croatia und Hungary. She participated in 29 personal and 103 group exhibitions in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Belgium, Chechia, Spain, Denmark, Lithuania, Croatia, Turkey, Egypt, USA, Korea and Japan. Her artworks can be found in several art museums and other well known public or private art collections, like the Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, the Museum of Design, Zürich, Sèvres – Cité de la céramique, the Igal & Diane Silber Collection, Laguna Beach/ Cal., the Panevėžys Civic Art Gallery (Lithuania), the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemét (Hungary), or the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Mino Ceramic Park, Gifu (Japan).
Maria Baumgartner herself writes about her recent objects of ceramic art: "My objects are each built up and hand-formed to their individual shape. The surface is smoothed only partially. This free development of the ceramic form can be seen in the sometimes dissolving rims and in the often thin-walled shells of the objects. The forms are inspired by an architectural aesthetic, hinting at vertical axes, playing with orthogonal or other geometric structures, but deconstructing, tilting and intertwining them. Thus a positive disquiet can be experienced. The entire surface of the ceramic objects is worked out in multiple layering by paintbrush, sgraffito or other pictorial techniques. Aim is to reach the impression of »three-dimensionial paintings«"
The following pictures show this formative development of the ceramic sculptural objects by Maria Baumgartner: starting from experimenting with circular or cylindrical forms (figure 1), she developed more complicated objects, using thin-walled wavelike shapes with experimental glazes (figure 2), or more solid houselike structures with straight angles (figures 3, 4). Now her objects are a free combination of various geometric shapes and conceptional graphics (figure 5)
1986 Upper Austrian Grant for artistic talent ("Talentförderungsprämie")
1991 Austrian State Prize for Design ("österr. Staatspreis für gestaltendes Handwerk")
1993 Nagrada (award) "Slavonski Brod" (= Medal "New Positions"), 4. Svetski Triennale Male Keramike, Zagreb/ Croatia.
1993, 1998 International Ceramic Symposia, Panevėžys/ LIT (invited artist)
1994 3rd »Tradition and Possibilities« Symposium: Blue Porcelain Painting Dubí/ Chechia (invited artist),
1998 Celadon Porcelain Festival & Symposium, Gangjin/ KOR (group invitation).
1998 Salzburg Award for Ceramic Art ("Salzburger Keramikpreis").
1998, 2000 Biennial "Form & Glaze", Frankfurt am Main (Germany) (invited artist by jury decision)
2002, 2003: Fire Magic II, III Symposia, International Ceramics Studio (ICS), Kecskemét (Hungary) (co-director).
1982 Ceramics, Gallery "Kunsthof Weihergut", Salzburg/ A
1984 Ceramics and Porcellain, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Lienz/ A
1990 Maria Baumgarter/ Lilo Schrammel: Ceramics, Gallery (of the artist's association) MAERZ, Linz/ A
1992 Maria Baumgartner – Ceramics, Gallery in the Museum "Schloss Bruck", Lienz/ A
1992 Maria Baumgartner: Ceramics, Gallery L in the "Heine-Haus", Hamburg/ BRD
1993 Vases and Colours, Gallery Felice Figl, Linz/ A
1996 Landscapes - Pale Clay, Gallery "Ceramic Arts", Vienna/ A
1996 Works in Clay, Gallery in the "Looshaus", Vienna/ A
2000 Maria Baumgartner: New Ceramics, Gallery "b15", Munich/ BRD
2000 Ceramic Objects and Sculptures, Kammerhof Gallery, Gmunden/ A
2001 Maria Baumgartner: Ceramics, Gallery "Unart", Villach/ A
2001 Ceramics: Series "Kasbah", "Twists", "Orcas", Gallery "Tiroler Kunstpavillon", Innsbruck/ A
2010 A Plentiful Portion – Ceramic Objects, Gallery "Kulturkeller Schloss Dobersberg/ A"
1981 Austrian Ceramics 1900 - 1980, City Museum "Nordico" Linz, and Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna.
1984 12 Ceramic Artists from Austria, Gallery Ludwig, Hannover/ BRD.
1986 European Contemporary Ceramics, Ceramics museum "Keramion", Frechen near Cologne.
1986 Contemporary Ceramics in Austria, Art Collection of the Veste Coburg/ BRD (and other places).
1989 L’Europe des Ceramistes. Actualité de la Céramique Européenne, Abbey of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre/ FRA (and other places).
1991 Ceramics as Passion: the Collection of Prof. Cornelius Ouwehand, Musée Bellerive, Zurich/ CH.
1992 Le Bol aux quatre coins de la terre, Gallery Leonelli, Lausanne/ CH.
1993 4th World Triennial Exhibition of Small Ceramics, Meštrović Pavilion, Zagreb/ CRO.
1994 The 2nd Cairo International Biennale for Ceramics, Zamalek Art Gallery, Cairo/ EGY.
1996 Ceramics from the 20th Century. Collection Ingrid and Rudolf Welle, City Gallery, Paderborn/ BRD.
1996 Movement - European Contemporary Ceramics '96, Ceramics museum "Keramion", Frechen near Cologne.
1998 International Contemporary Ceramics from the Igal and Diane Silber Collection, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach/ Cal.
2000 The World of Pots. Contemporary Ceramics. Collection Rudolf Strasser, Museum in the "Kreuzgang", Landshut/ BRD (and other places).
2000, 2001 SOFA Art Fair, New York/ NY & Chicago/ Ill.
2001 Salon international de céramique de collection et des arts du feu, Hôtel du Rond-point, Paris/ FRA.
2005 In time.In space.In fire, Museion No. 1, International Ceramics Studio, Budapest/ HUN.
2007 Modern Ceramics from Central Europe – A Focus on Hungary, the Czech Republic and Greater Central Europe, Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu/ JAP.
2012 1000 Gramm, Gallery of Applied Arts, München/ BRD.
2014 Ceramics from the 20th Century. Objects from the Donation Welle, Museum of Applied Arts, Gera/ BRD.
2016 Heritage and Diversity. East and West Invitational Ceramic Exhibition, Hanyang University Museum, Seoul/ KOR.
2016 Latvia International Ceramics Biennale - Martinsons Award Exhibition, Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils/ LAT.
Die Österreich-Seite: »Man muss in die Werkstatt gehen«. Über Franz Josef Altenburg (The Austria page: on Franz Josef Altenburg). In: Neue Keramik. vol 3 (1989), no. 5, pp. 583–584.
Das Europa der Keramiker. Zu einer internationalen Großausstellung der Linzer Kunsthochschule (Ceramists' Europe: On an international exhibition at the Arts University Linz). In: linz aktiv no. 114 (1990), pp. 75–77.
Keramikerinnen in Salzburg (Female Ceramists in Salzburg). In: Wally, Barbara (ed.): Künstlerinnen in Salzburg (Female Artists in Salzburg). ed. Museum Carolino Augusteum, Salzburg 1991, ISBN 3-901014-08-X, pp. 83–98.
Ceramics in Austria - Survival in the Invisible. In: European Ceramic from 13 counties: exhibition catalogue, Kunsthalle Dominikanerkirche Osnabrück. ed Rasch, Bramsche (Germany) 1998, ISBN 3-932147-47-2, pp. 120–123.
Neues Feuer. Ein Ausstellungsprojekt der Keramik an der University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz 1999/2000 (New Fire. An exhibition project). ed. University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz, Linz 1999, ISBN 3-901112-16-2.
Indoor – Outdoor. Keramik im Garten. Ein Projekt der Kunstuniversität Linz und der Westungarischen Universität Sopron (Indoor – Outdoor. Ceramics in the garden. A project of the Arts University Linz and the Hungarian University Sopron). ed. University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz, Linz 2003
Selber Linzer. Eine Ausstellung der Kunstuniversität Linz - Studienrichtung Keramik ("Linzer Oneself": An Exhibition by the University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz - Institute of Ceramics). ed. Dt. Porzellanmuseum, Selb (Germany) 2006, ISBN 3-927793-94-9.
Kopieren und Einfügen. Eine Ausstellung der Kunstuniversität Linz im Rahmen der OÖ. Landesausstellung 2008 (Copy and Paste. An exhibition of the Arts University Linz within the Upper Austrian Regional Exhibition 2008). ed. University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz, Linz 2008, ISBN 978-3-901112-47-8.
