I’m from Austria and was born in Vienna.
MAGAZINE · INTERVIEW
Philipp Aduatz
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Interview
Where were you born and where are you from?
What is your first memory connected to the art world?
Mainly conceptual art, my father used to bring me to art exhibitions from my early childhood on. I remember when I was very young that I loved conceptual art the most.
Have you always worked in the art/design field?
No, my artistic beginnings were with painting in the studio of my father, who was a draftsman. I painted nearly 150 large oil paintings in my youth as a pupil and had my first exhibition in 1997 when I was 15 years old.
What led you to design creation?
Besides my artistic roots, I have also always been drawn to natural sciences, especially materials research. Through my work at the interface of design and art, I can live out these two disciplines fully and express myself freely.
How would you describe your creative process and its influences?
A big part of my creative process is experimentation. I love to discover and explore materials in a playful way. Another part of my work is science; some pieces start with a theoretical concept, others with new fabrication technologies such as 3D concrete printing or laser scanning. A big influence has also always been sculptors who fascinate me till today the most.
Could you describe a typical day of your work?
Every day is very different. Sometimes I work the whole day in my studio, on another day I visit a production facility, and sometimes I’m at the university because I’m also a scientific research associate. I like the variety of my life and that every day is different.
Why did you choose the specific materials you work with?
I don’t have any specific preferences for certain materials. I think every material has its own eligibility with certain benefits and drawbacks. During my career, I would like to work with every possible material, and of course, every new material.
What are the technical particularities of your creations?
To use technology and solve technical hurdles in order to serve an aesthetic concept or idea.
What advice could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works?
Prepare to have very strong stamina for this profession; it takes a lot of effort and time to establish your own brand and design. It took me much longer than I expected.
If your works had to belong to a design movement, how would you define it?
I once liked the term “Design Art”, introduced first by Alexander Payne. Even though this term received a bad rap, in the meantime I would describe it as an interesting term for a movement I feel my work belongs to.
What designers and artists have influenced you?
A designer who also worked at the interface of design and art, like Danny Lane, Wendell Castle, Ron Arad, Marc Newson, or Zaha Hadid.
What contemporary designers do you appreciate?
Mostly the young generation of British and Dutch designers who also work at the intersection of design and sculpture.
What contemporary artists, in any kind of art, have you been inspired by?
Mostly sculptors like Constantin Brancusi, Tony Cragg, Hans Arp, Franz West or Richard Serra.
If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be?
Experimental and Unique.
“A big part of my creative process is experimentation.”
The Questionnaire
The Questions
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
To be bored and have time think about new projects.
What is your greatest fear?
To have a 9-5 job.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Impatience.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Being disrespectful.
Which living person do you most admire?
Elon Musk. A true visionary.
What is your greatest extravagance?
My decadency.
What is your current state of mind?
Relaxed.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Pleasure.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Good-naturedness.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Kind-heartedness.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Theoretical and concept.
Which talent would you most like to have?
To be musical.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My impatience.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My family.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
A jet.
Where would you most like to live?
Los Angeles or New York or maybe both.
What is your most treasured possession?
I’m not such a materialist.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
To be a politician.
What is your favorite occupation?
Boxing.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I’m a very quiet person.
What do you most value in your friends?
Reliability.
Who are your favorite writers?
Thomas Bernhard, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe.
Who is your hero of fiction?
Jane Marple.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Tiziano Vecellio.
Who are your heroes in real life?
People who care for others.
What are your favorite names?
Neo & Nemo.
What is it that you most dislike?
Bad Food.
What is your greatest regret?
That I didn’t do an exchange semester during study.
How would you like to die?
During sleep.
What is your motto?
The easiest way to survive is by not giving up.
“Through my work at the interface of design and art, I can live out these two disciplines fully and express myself freely.”
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