Jakob Auer. Schützen
15 March 2023
Post originally written in: Deutsch Information An automatic machine translation. Super fast and almost perfect.

An exhibition to conclude a special 'family history'? You can certainly see it that way. Because with Jakob Auer, a young Telfer artist is exhibiting together with Sabine Daum until April 14 in the gallery that was once co-founded by his grandfather. The Raiffeisen Gallery will be moving to a new building together with the bank next year.

The name Auer is well known in Telfs. One of the main streets of the Oberland industrial community is named after a famous son of the village: Anton Auer. "He is my great-grandfather, was an honorary citizen, secondary school principal, art teacher and draftsman," his great-grandson Jakob Auer proudly tells me. Jakob's grandfather Helmut Auer, in turn, owes Telfs the well-known Raiffeisen Gallery in the heart of the market town. He was instrumental in its founding and development. Jakob therefore bears the vulgar name 'Beri' with obvious pride. It expresses the family aura that characterizes the Auers in Telfs.

No wonder, then, that Jakob Auer, now 25, followed in the artistic footsteps of his ancestors at the age of 16. He himself attributes his affinity for painting primarily to his grandfather Helmut Auer's collection of paintings and pictures. The merchant and gallery owner was an avid art collector and loved to make picture frames for artists. Little wonder that his collection grew steadily, which he kept at Obermarktstraße 35. That's exactly where Jakob now has his studio. "I looked at these pictures with enthusiasm as a little boy," he says. "They piled up to the ceiling and were much more interesting to me than all the comic books." For hours, he says, he would sit there and study them.

Pictures decorate this room again today. They are now works by Jakob Auer that adorn the Auer's studio and offer a reasonably good overview of his work to date. They are linocuts and woodcuts as well as his tempera paintings on paper - all works, that already hint at a personal style. During my visit, I notice two pictures that show slalom drivers. Actually not an everyday subject for a painter.

"I work as a ski instructor in Seefeld in the winter," Jakob laughs. So of course an affinity for skiing is logical. "But in my main job, I make sure that the hiking trails in Telfs are always in good condition as a trail keeper for the Innsbruck Region Tourist Board."

So it is actually logical that he has also completed training as a Tyrolean hiking guide and mountain bike guide. Two professional opportunities that he rarely exploits as a trail keeper, however, although his declared love belongs to the mostly hidden hunter and shepherd trails in the vicinity of Telfs. "There I make three to four times a year guided tours for interested people," he says. "Because the Steige are mostly hidden and difficult to find." To keep the hikers excited, he loves to tell legends and stories from his closer home.

A first teacher: Prof. Heinrich Tilly

When he concretely started with wood and linocuts at the age of 16, Jakob Auer had a well-known and renowned teacher at his side: Prof. Heinrich Tilly. The artist, who died last year, was a luminary as an art teacher, but also made a name for himself in Telfs as a carnival researcher.

A role model for Jakob Auer is the well-known Tyrolean artist Johann Franz Reich from Polling. He gave Jakob an important tip: He should not choose colors from a large color palette, but use only the primary colors and perhaps a specific blue. "This has influenced my tempera works," Jakob tells me. "Mixing the colors is exciting work and makes painting an exciting experience."

His paintings are representational, meaning the depictions should remain recognizable. His preferred motifs show with preference rural people in various situations. "When I paint something, it goes from my eye directly to my hand," Jakob says. Unadorned, so to speak.

Above all, the depictions of mountain farmers characterize many of his works, whether in the parlor of a farm or at the regulars' table in the inn. It is the young man's deep respect for the peasant achievements that speaks from Jakob Auer's paintings. Therefore, logically, he is also fascinated by the animals of a farm - whereby his soft spot is obviously for the alpine pastures.

In his laudatory speech at the opening of the exhibition, Deputy Mayor Klaus Schuchter described Jakob Auer as a living example of a 'free spirit' who has always remained authentic in his life and work: "An enthusiastic Tyrolean, a nature boy, a carnival enthusiast through and through, extreme sportsman and enthusiastic Schütze."

The exhibition "Allerlei Mensch" in the Raiffeisengalerie Telfs in Untermarkt can be seen until April 14.

Copyright, unless otherwise stated: © Werner Kräutler

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