In his artistic position, Felix Haspel explores various forms of textile art as a narrative form - from classical tapestry and painting to stone and iron sculptures as well as land art projects. Between 1989 and 2011, he worked with extreme landscapes and travelled extensively through desert regions in North Africa and Central Asia. The theme of these landscape forms, which are free of traces of civilization, pervades the artist's artistic position, particularly in the areas of painting, sculpture, tapestry, and land art projects. Felix Haspel also deals with artefacts of human activity. This is expressed in his sculptural works. In his sculptures made of iron, stone, bronze and other materials, he also uses textile elements as a means of expression. Here the textile aspect is achieved through the textile form and not through the material. Felix Haspel's work is characterized by great diversity and versatility both in his forms of expression and in his choice of materials.
In addition to weaving tapestries and painting, he also conceives and realizes stone and iron sculptures and also sees himself as a textile artist, using form and textile structures rather than just the material textile as a means of expression. The recontextualization of artefacts of human activity and the narrative style by means of textile design are an important aspect of Felix Haspel's sculptural work. The central theme of Felix Haspel's sculptures is the exploration of the phenomenon of influences that affect people and their effects. The interplay between external influences and internal counteracting forces is at the center of the artistic design. Due to the contrasting nature of the materials used, Felix Haspel creates forms that visualize the theme of spatial demands versus the creation of space.
Haspel is one of Austria's leading textile artists today. When weaving a tapestry, which is characterized by its colourful luminosity, he finds a special artistic language. For Felix Haspel, weaving tapestries is like painting with wool. Wool as a colour carrier, related to watercolours in its luminosity, is an adequate material for his artistic expression. Wool is an extremely luminous material which enables a living, bright, even vibrating surface. Weaving threads are often put together from as many as ten different wool strands individually dyed by the artist.
Felix Haspel’s watercolour paintings are often inspired by his many trips to desert regions. These works focus on the blending of terrestrial and spherical elements together with the experiencing of light, colour, rhythm and melody of the landscapes. The spontaneous painting technique lets Haspel’s inner experience stream to the exterior, where his flow of thought frequently bears deep resemblance to the flow of hues and shades of the watercolour. His paintings are not depictions of actual landscapes. Rather, they are representative of inner impressions of landscapes; a blend of the lived, the seen, the felt and the experienced. They are depictions that do not aim to reproduce the actual geology of any scene, but attend to the beholder’s perception and dramatic sensation of such a scene. Thoughts the artist brought home from the desert turned into paintings.
Felix Haspel studied painting, stained glass and textile art at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. In 1978 he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, with a master's degree in painting. From 1978 to 2000, Haspel was a contract professor of weaving and textile arts at the Academy of Fine Arts. From 2000 to 2006, he held a professorship of textile art at the Academy of Visual Arts. Felix Haspel has been a freelance artist since 1978 and lives and works in Vienna.
