Artistic Highlights

Take a look at our selection of some of the artistic highlights that Austria has to offer, from up-and-coming fashion designer Lena Hoschek to more traditional craftsmanship such as that of the Ferlach gunsmiths.

From Graz with Love

Despite being one of Austria’s historic cities, Graz is very much forward thinking and full of modernity. Up-and-coming designer Lena Hoschek lives in the city and whilst some of her collections draw on the 1950s for inspiration (lots of pantsuits and petticoats with wide skirts), she also designs studded belts, extravagant latex stockings and high heels. Her collections take inspiration from several decades and received rave reviews at Berlin fashion week. US singer Katy Perry has even been spotted wearing a Hoschek creation or two. Why not pick one up while you’re in Graz?

Where Wine and Art mix

The Weinviertel (‘wine quarter') region is present throughout the Museumszentrum Mistelbach (MZM). In this 6,000 square metre exhibition space, the focus is on the region's people, its past, and its present. The museum complex consists of the Nitsch Museum and the Lebenswelt Weinviertel Museum. Local artist Hermann Nitsch, whose ‘splatter paintings' are a regular source of controversy in the country, is represented here by a broad cross-section of his diverse work. The Lebenswelt Museum features an extensive exhibit on witches and is a rich source of information about the Weinviertel's varied cultural landscape.

Modern China

Inspired by the word ‘manus’, meaning hand, product designer Hedwig Rotter chose the name Mano Design for her porcelain label. With her studio in the Ottakring district of Vienna, Hedwig specialises in high quality porcelain, producing both traditional pieces such as mugs, bowls and vases, and others in more of an avant-garde style such as lamps that pay homage to the shape of a big ball chair. Humour also plays an important role – porcelain football shoes anyone?

Shop Chic

Specialising in contemporary furniture, products, and shop design, Vienna-based EOOS has created shop space concepts for top brands, including Giorgio Armani and Adidas. One particularly renowned piece of work is the ‘Inipi Stone’ remote control device which looks like a small stone and enables users to regulate temperature, humidity, colour of light and music in their home.

Ferlach's Master Gunsmiths

The art of gunsmithing has been practiced in the town of Ferlach in Carinthia for over 500 years, with weapons from the Rosental region in high acclaim across Europe. As beautiful as museum pieces when they leave the workshop, they are, however, destined for practical use, renowned and valued for their precision. Even the Empress Maria Theresia appreciated the work of Ferlach‘s Master Gunsmiths, and indeed, these weapons grace the collections of noble houses and museums from St Petersburg to Cleveland. They can be recognised by their approval mark, which is impressed on the lock, stock and barrel, once the master supervisor has certified their excellence.