Roland Berger (1941–2024) – In the Tension Between Mass and Suspension
Roland Berger is regarded as one of the most significant Austrian sculptors of the post-war era. Born in Salzburg in 1941, he trained at the Federal School for Wood and Stone in Hallstatt and later studied under Prof. Hans Knesl at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. From the 1970s onwards, he worked as a freelance artist and became a member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus in 1974.
Berger primarily worked with hard volcanic stone such as basalt and basalt lava – materials often considered resistant and unforgiving. Yet he imbued them with surprising elegance and lightness. His sculptures hover between solidity and dissolution, compression and flow. In many of his works, heavy forms appear to float, stretch, fold, or soften – as if gravity itself had been suspended. A strong connection to natural, organic growth remains palpable throughout.
Formally, Berger’s work reflects a wide range of influences: surrealist lightness, expressionist physicality, kinetic tension, and a constructivist sense of space and balance. This fusion gives his sculptures both complexity and accessibility – bold in form, yet subtle in effect.
Berger masterfully translated the static into movement. His sculptural language is deeply rooted in material and place. Many of his large-scale works were created in dialogue with specific environments across Austria, France, Italy, Germany, and the United States. From the 1980s onward, he worked regularly in Washington State and in Mayen (Germany). His final studio was located in a repurposed power station in Austria’s Lafnitz Valley.
He exhibited widely throughout Europe and the U.S., participating in international symposia in Paris, Bandol, Lindabrunn, and Mayen. His works are held in public and private collections, including the Austrian Ministry of Education and Culture (Vienna), the Würth Museum, the Landesgalerie Eisenstadt, and the City of Salzburg.
Roland Berger passed away in 2024. His work endures – a testament to the interplay of mass and motion, calm and energy, grounding and suspension.
