The leading authority for the Architecture & Design community
August 27, 2017
Text: Annie Block
Austrian Graphic Design Pioneer Julius Klinger Celebrated Stateside
Julius Klinger’s offset-lithograph poster, circa 1923, for the Wiener Plakatierungs–und Anzeigengesellschaft is appearing at the Wolfsonian–Florida International University in Miami Beach. Image courtesy of the Wolfsonian–Florida International University.
If it weren’t for Julius Klinger, an Austrian painter and commercial illustrator in the early 20th century, graphic design might not have the impact it has today. “An exhibition on him takes us back to the time when creating images for mass circulation was first becoming professionalized,” Jon Mogul says. “Klinger was one of the field’s pioneers, someone to whom graphic designers still look for inspiration.” Mogul is assistant director of research and academic programs at Miami Beach’s Wolfsonian–Florida International University, where “Julius Klinger: Posters for a Modern Age” opens October 6. The exhibition will present Klinger’s work for such clients as the mineral water Bonaqua and the New School in New York alongside contributions from his better-known compatriots Josef Hoffman and Gustav Klimt.
Another, from 1909, for a mineral water still in existence today. Image courtesy of the Wolfsonian–Florida International University.A poster, circa 1910. Image courtesy of the Wolfsonian–Florida International University.A 1901 cover for a German magazine. Image courtesy of the Wolfsonian–Florida International University.A 1933 poster. Image courtesy of the Wolfsonian–Florida International University.From 1922, a portfolio plate. Image courtesy of the Wolfsonian–Florida International University.A Spanish poster circa 1923. Image courtesy of the Wolfsonian–Florida International University.A 1920 portfolio plate. Image courtesy of the Wolfsonian–Florida International University.A 1914 poster advertising a ball in Munich. Image courtesy of the Wolfsonian–Florida International University.An excerpt from the funny pages, 1909. Image courtesy of the Wolfsonian–Florida International University.
