Petra Stelzmüller: die Brosche der Thetis
Design petra stelzmüller, Austria
Petra Stelzmüller (born 1974 in Upper Austria) is an Austrian designer and architect with Slovenian roots who has become known far beyond Austria’s borders for her extraordinary design objects and art projects. She studied architecture at the TU Wien from 1993 to 2000. After graduating, she worked for various architectural firms as a project supervisor in the field of commercial real estate as well as social housing. Because of her great preference for art and design, she opened her studio in 2012 with a focus on design, interior architecture and graphics, where she has been working independently ever since.
Petra Stelzmüller was already involved with art and design during her school years and began designing her first pieces of jewellery. As a freelancer, however, she pursues her true passion: product design. Among other things, she designed children’s cushions for the daily press as commissioned work. Petra Stelzmüller also devotes herself to socio-political and women-related issues in public spaces, such as the art installation “Undine kommt” (Undine is coming) for the Wiener Linien (Vienna public transport) in the Sigmund Freud Park.
In the exhibition “Higher Powers – People, Gods and the Forces of Nature” at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in 2022, the talisman Hugin designed by her was on display. For the exhibition “Iron Men – Fashion in Steel” Stelzmüller developed the brooch of Thetis, for which she received the German Design Award Special 2023. Stelzmüller also exhibited her hand-fan at the exposition “Sag’s durch die Blume” at the Museum Belvedere.
She is currently nominated for the German Design Award 2024 in the category architecture/ fair & exhibition with the project “Undine kommt”.