PASSINGS: Alfred Hrdlicka
Alfred Hrdlicka
Controversial Austrian artist
Alfred Hrdlicka, 81, an Austrian artist whose controversial works in metal, paint and pencil alienated as much as attracted the public, died Saturday, gallery owner Ernst Hilger said. No cause was given.
Hrdlicka’s sculptures, drawings and paintings are known as much for their artistic subtlety as their controversial themes. His religious works, in particular, drew protest from believers who considered them blasphemous.
Among his better-known works is his cast iron sculpture in downtown Vienna of a prostrate figure covered by barbed wire. The starkly disturbing “Memorial Against War and Fascism” has occasionally been defaced since it was unveiled in 1991.
Hrdlicka, born Feb. 27, 1928, also was a set designer on opera and theater stages across Europe.
-- Times staff and wire reports news.obits@latimes.com
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