Artist Ingrid Wiener dies before 84th birthday

Vienna artist Ingrid Wiener, known for her unconventional approach to textile art, has died, ORF reported, citing the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) and Charim Gallery. She would have turned 84 on Friday.

Wiener, born Ingrid Schuppan, worked with weaving for many years, combining textile art with photography, painting and collage. She studied at a textile school, where she befriended Waltraud Höllinger, later known as VALIE EXPORT, and began weaving tapestries for artists including Dieter Roth and Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

She married artist Oswald Wiener, and the couple lived in Berlin and Canada before settling in southeastern Styria. In Berlin, they opened restaurants, including the artists’ meeting place Exil, where guests included David Bowie and Peter O’Toole.

Oswald Wiener was held in pretrial detention for three months after police pursued participants in the 1968 “Art and Revolution” action at the University of Vienna. In June 1969, he published his book Die Verbesserung von Mitteleuropa, Roman, and the couple later moved to Berlin.

In Canada, Wiener began exploring mental images and painted watercolours of her often-surreal dreams. Her stepdaughter, Sarah Wiener, described her cooking as “light-footed, unpretentious and creative” in a book about the artist published in 2019.

MAK director general Lilli Hollein called Wiener an artist, pioneer, mediator and friend who shared her world and artistic process. Charim Gallery owner Miryam Charim said the two had developed a close personal friendship through years of artistic collaboration.