“Tell these people who I am!”
—surely nothing captures the high artistic aspirations of the famous designer Vally Wieselthier (1895−1945) as concisely as her own words. Radically expressive, confident, and far ahead of her time, she broke the mold of functional pottery.
She considered herself a sculptor and created masonry heaters, fountains, wall friezes, as well as impressive sculptures, but she was also a successful textile artist and graphic designer.
With its first comprehensive retrospective on the artist entitled VALLY WIESELTHIER: Ceramic Sculptor, the MAK is turning the spotlight on her career in Europe and the United States and demonstrating her lasting and ongoing impact on Austrian ceramic art on the basis of 160 select objects.
The exhibition was inspired by the partial bequest of her estate by her family in the US.
MAK – Museum für angewandte Kunst
The role of applied art in shaping our living spaces is the focus of the MAK, which operates at the interface of design, architecture and contemporary art in order to create new perspectives and explore borderline areas. The MAK aims to provide answers to the question of how design can help shape the world and expand possibilities for action and decision-making.
VALLY WIESELTHIER: Ceramic Sculptor
29 Apr 2026 - 10 Jan 2027
MAK - Museum für angewandte Kunst
Stubenring 5, 1010 Wien, Österreich
Vally Wieselthier, Entwurf für eine Kaminverkleidung, um 1927 Bleistift, Gouache auf Papier © MAK
