444 - Mario Dalpra* (born 1960 in Feldkirch)

Mario Dalpra* (born 1960 in Feldkirch) Indonesia, 2006 mixed media/paper 28,5 x 39,5 cm verso label "Indonesia", 2006 SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE € 400 - 800 STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE € 400 Mario Dalpra was born in Feldkirch in 1960. After completing an apprenticeship as a chef, he moved to Vienna in 1980. He spent two years—from 1981 to 1983—in a Jesuit monastery, a period during which he immersed himself in improvisation, singing, and art history. In 1982, he was admitted to Arnulf Rainer’s master class at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. His engagement with Rainer’s art of overpainting (Übermalung) shaped his early Abstract Expressionist works. Towards the end of the 1980s, Dalpra increasingly turned his attention to sculpture. Extended stays in Australia, Indonesia, and India broadened his repertoire of imagery and forms; in particular, his engagement with Māori culture, Far Eastern aesthetics, and mythologically charged figures led to a distinctive, organic, and archaic formal language. Since around 2010, he has created expressively modeled wooden sculptures, which were increasingly complemented from 2011 onwards by works in bronze and lacquered aluminum. Characteristic of his work are hybrid beings with biomorphic and anthropomorphic qualities that evoke associations with microorganisms, animal forms, or imaginary creatures. Their sweeping, dynamic shapes and often luminous, high-gloss colors combine playful imagination with sculptural presence. With his "Bag Sculptures," introduced in 2016, Dalpra also offered an ironic commentary on the commercialization of the art market. Dalpra has exhibited in Europe, the USA, Latin America, Australia, and Asia. His works are held in collections such as the Museum Liaunig, the Museum Angerlehner, and the LENTOS Kunstmuseum Linz. PLEASE NOTE: The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights and platform fee. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer's premium and platform fee. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.