history
the werkstätte carl auböck was founded in the 19th century as a metal workshop by karl heinrich auböck (1872-1925) producing “viennese bronzes” in a different location than it is today in the 7th district of vienna.
later on in 1912, the workshop was installed in the premises of bernardgasse 21 and 23 where it is still located.
being talented in drawing and painting, karl I sent his son carl II (1900-1957) to art courses at the academy of fine arts in vienna at a very young age.
later on, he was trained as a bronze worker and chaser in the family business. also studying at a course led by johannes itten in vienna. also itten acknowledged talent in carl II and so invited him as a student to the weimar bauhaus, where he was co-founder.
there, carl II attended metalwork as a subject as one of the about 20 austrian scholarship holders.
there he met and later on married sculptor and textile artist mara utschkunova. one year later their son carl auböck III (1924-1993) was born.
when karl I passed in 1925, carl II took over his parents' business and slowly began to incorporate the aesthetics of early bauhaus experimental modernism into his product range. at a very early stage, carl II found business partners in the us that helped him as still young man to guide collection perspectives into the future.
his sculptures, trays and objects of manifold kind made the werkstätte carl auböck famous and brought the traditional but at that time already stale genre of "viennese bronzes" into the modern age. soon, international design galleries became aware of these works and the collection enjoyed growing popularity.
his son carl auböck III - who grew up in the workshop - shared his passion for craft and design. he concentrated on his gift as an architect and industrial designer in continuing addition to his designs for the werkstätte. carl auböck III attended a post graduate course at mit in the united states in the early fifties. there he became acquainted with the design of classical modernism and some of its famous representatives like walter gropius, benjamin thompson, richard neutra, herbert bayer, charles and ray eames, george nelson, marco zanuso and massimo vignelli. most of them became friends for life.
back in vienna, carl II and carl III designed numerous objects together, such as paperweights, cutlery, ashtrays, corkscrews, floor lamps, coat racks, and bookends, in a long and fruitful collaboration.
after the passing of carl auböck II in 1957, carl III took over the workshop and, together with his wife justine and brought it to international fame for the first time through collaborations with renowned luxury brands such as longchamp, tiffanys, hermès and pierre cardin. since then, the early 1950s auböck designs can be found not only in the "museum of modern art" in new york city, but also in v&a in london, as well as in numerous galleries all over the world.
all objects are still handmade in the workshop in bernardgasse in vienna's 7th district and are distributed internationally.
today
today, the workshop is run by the fourth generation - by carl auböck IV, his daughter zola and his sister maria. the current collection contains around 450 designs of the generations before as well as new designs. In addition, the workshop is proudly collaborating with international designers like michael anastassiades, lee west, aldo bakker, jaqueline rabun as well as working together with international brands like berluti and birkenstock