HR Giger

The multifaceted, always surprising early work of Swiss artist and designer HR Giger

HR Giger (19402014) remains one of the outstanding figures in Swiss art and design history. He achieved international fame in 1979 for designing the fantastic creatures and eerie environments that terrified moviegoers in Ridley Scott's science fiction film Alien. Yet, before these iconic creations made him a celebrity and won him an Academy Award for visual effects, Giger was already highly regarded in the international art world of the 1960s and 1970s, for taking one of the most independent positions in the succession of Surrealism.

First published in 2007, this only book to date on HR Giger's early work features a comprehensive collection of his drawings, early airbrush paintings, and designs for oppressive environments. It examines Giger's art from its origins and places it in an art history of horror. Most of the works shown in this volume are only rarely on public display. Here they are presented in dialogue with works by distinguished precursors such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Francisco de Goya, Henry Fuseli, Max Klinger, and James Ensor.

• Das bislang einzige, seit 2015 vergriffene Buch über das vielseitige Frühwerk des weltbekannten Künstlers und Designers HR Giger (19402014) als Neuausgabe
• Zeigt zahlreiche kaum veröffentlichte und nur selten öffentlich ausgestellte Arbeiten HR Gigers
• Beleuchtet Verbindungslinien zum Werk bedeutender Künstler wie Piranesi, Goya, Füssli, Klinger oder Ensor

Auteur

Beat Stutzer führt in Luzern das Büro K&K - Kunst und Kommunikation und ist als freischaffender Autor und Kurator tätig. 1982-2011 Direktor des Bündner Kunstmuseums Chur sowie 1998-2016 Konservator des Segantini Museums St. Moritz.

Texte du rabat

HR Giger (1940-2014) remains one of the outstanding figures in Swiss art and design history. He achieved international fame in 1979 for designing the fantastic creatures and eerie environments that terrified moviegoers in Ridley Scott's science fiction film Alien. Yet, before these iconic creations made him a celebrity and won him an Academy Award for visual effects, Giger was already highly regarded in the international art world of the 1960s and 1970s, for taking one of the most independent positions in the succession of Surrealism.

First published in 2007, this only book to date on HR Giger's early work features a comprehensive collection of his drawings, early airbrush paintings, and designs for oppressive environments. It examines Giger's art from its origins and places it in an art history of horror. Most of the works shown in this volume are only rarely on public display. Here they are presented in dialogue with works by distinguished precursors such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Francisco de Goya, Henry Fuseli, Max Klinger, and James Ensor.

Résumé
The multifaceted, always surprising early work of Swiss artist and designer HR Giger