Carl Auböck

Werkstätte Carl Auböck

Objects That Last.

For four generations, Werkstätte Carl Auböck has stood for a distinctive connection between design and craftsmanship.

Founded in Vienna and still run as a family workshop today, it creates objects that are difficult to classify: functional pieces, figures, sculptures, furniture and small objects for everyday life. What connects them is a distinctive visual language and a natural approach to materials.

Brass, in particular, has become a defining element of the workshop. Polished, ground or patinated, its surface changes with use and develops character over time.

Form, Material, Function

The work of Werkstätte Carl Auböck is rarely loud.

Often, it is an unusual proportion, an unexpected detail or a deliberately simple form that makes the difference. A hand, a figure or an everyday object becomes something entirely its own.

Function remains visible.

Many designs are objects for everyday use. They are made to hold, support, organise, indicate or simply stand on a table. At the same time, they possess a quality that goes beyond their practical purpose.

That combination is what makes the work so distinctive.

Craftsmanship as Part of the Design

At the workshop, craftsmanship cannot be separated from design.

Casting, grinding, polishing and patination are all part of the process and play an essential role in the appearance of the finished objects. Small variations in surface and patina are therefore not imperfections, but part of their individuality.

The result is not an interchangeable industrial product.

These are objects with weight, surface and presence.

Four Generations

The history of the workshop stretches back more than a century. Four generations have shaped it, each bringing their own particular focus while continuing a shared approach to design and craftsmanship.

What has remained is the fundamental principle: distinctive forms, quality materials and a production process in which craftsmanship and design belong together.

That is why the work of Werkstätte Carl Auböck cannot be confined to a single period.

It belongs to its time – yet continues to work beyond it.

The Connection to Contemporum.

The connection between Contemporum. and Werkstätte Carl Auböck has grown over many years.

Today, we work closely together – not only for private collectors, but also with international design studios and interior designers who use Auböck objects in larger projects.

This close relationship gives us a particular insight into the work and its production. It is also why Carl Auböck is not simply another name in the Contemporum. collection.

Why Contemporum.

At Contemporum., we are not looking for things that are interesting right now.

We discover objects that last.

Werkstätte Carl Auböck fits that philosophy perfectly.

Its work does not depend on a particular interior style. It works just as naturally alongside vintage pieces as it does within contemporary design. Some objects catch the eye immediately. Others reveal themselves only at a second glance.

But they stay.

Not because they follow a trend. Because the form, material and idea work.

For us, that is the real quality of good design.

Objects you do not want to replace simply because the times have changed.

Werkstätte Carl Auböck is one of the few Austrian workshops where this attitude remains visible – and tangible – to this day.