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Construction With and Within a Cube
gilded bronze sculpture on marble base
1945
Max Bill
Swiss, 1908-1994

#maxbill #modernism #sculpture #modernsculpture #modernart #art #zurich #switzerland #bauhaus #ulmerstool #architect #graphicdesigner #artist #painter #sculptor #vintagemodern #moderndesign
Max Bill (22 December 1908 – 9 December 1994) was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer. Max Bill was born in Winterthur (Switzerland). From 1924 to 1927 he went to the Kunstgewerbeschule Zurich as a silversmith in the apprenticeship. When he was just 17 years old, Sophie Taeuber-Arp exhibited two of his student works in the legendary "Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs" in Paris. With the prize money, which he had recently won for a poster design for the chocolate manufacturer Suchard, he went to the Bauhaus in Dessau. Here he studied for two years with Albers, Kandinsky, Klee, Moholy-Nagy and Schlemmer - a formative and trend-setting time for the young Bill. In 1929, Bill returned to Switzerland and settled in Zurich. Here the versatile artist worked as an architect, painter, sculptor, publicist and product designer. In 1930 he joined the Swiss Werkbund. From 1933, the former Bauhausler made first sculptures and was included in the Paris artist group "abstraction création". Bill was just 25 years old. His membership enabled him to exhibit side by side with such greats as Piet Mondrian, Jean Arp, Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Georges Vantongerloo. In 1938, Bill joined the CIAM (Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne), whose members include ao. other well-known architects such as Walter Gropius, Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier. Best known, however, was Max Bill as a driving force in the founding and planning of the HfG Ulm (College of Design) and as the architect and first principal and also headed the Department of Architecture & Product. Max Bill's most famous design pieces include the Ulmer Stool, designed by Bill in collaboration with the Dutch architect and designer Hans Gugelot at the HfG Ulm, and the formally simple dials of Junghans wristwatches, wall clocks and kitchen clocks - both are true design classics!
April 2, 2025 at 3:23 PM