11.2.1998—17.5.1998
Upper Exhibition Hall
Dagobert Peche (1887-1923) is one of the key figures among the Austrian designers around the turn of the century. Peche worked as a designer for Wiener Keramik, Johann Backhausen & Söhne and the Viennese porcelain factory Böck before becoming a decisive influence on the designs of the Wiener Werkstätte from 1915 on. His works amount to a formal redefinition in the direction of more decorative and more humorous solution. Practicality and usability are no longer prominent factors; on the contrary, these values are often purposely ignored in decorative art. Peche's room decorations and artistic objects frequently became an end in themselves and their meaningfulness has polarised viewers to this day.

The MAK exhibition "Beyond Function" is the first comprehensive Dagobert Peche retrospective which attempts to present a more differenciated view of the development of Austrian design and crafts. In addition to numerous designs and drawings, the exhibition shows examples from the various field of applied arts: furniture, metal objects, jewelry, ceramics, glassware, fabrics, lace and wall paper.