#@#
1940 February 5
HR Giger is born in Chur as the second child of Melly Giger-Meier and the pharmacist Hans
Richard Giger. Above their Steinbock pharmacy is the large, dingy rented apartment which
along with the entrance corridor and the pharmacy itself becomes his favourite playground. His
sister Iris is seven years older.
1946
Attends nursery school, first the Catholic Marienheim and then
quickly transferred to Auntie Grittli’s Reform(ational)
Kindergarten.
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1957–58
Institute Haute Rampe, Lausanne.
1958–59
Alpina College, Davos – preliminary certificate in drawing.
1959–62
Practical training with the architect Venatius Maisen, Chur, and the developer Hans
Stetter Chur. Military college in Winterthur – as a mortar gunner with light
mobilized troops.
1962–65
School of Applied Arts, Zurich, Department of Interior and Industrial Design.
1964
H.R. Giger lives in the Venedigstrasse in Enge, Zurich. During the day,
he attends the School of Applied Arts in Zurich (KGSZ), second year,
Interior Design and Industrial Design department. Produces his Atomkinder
(Atomic Children) ink drawings in his spare time. These are published in
the Chur canton school magazine. Also creates expressive Tachist and
works in distemper (glue paste mixed with powdered pigment) on paper
using large brush and squeegee. First polyester works: a table and,
primarily, masks.
#@#
1965
School of Applied Arts, third year. Publication of
ink drawings in underground magazines such as Clou
and Agitation. He prints a number of works privately
under the title Ein Fressen für den Psychiater
(A Feast for the Psychiatrist). H.R.G. developed
his interest in Sigmund Freud and keeps a diary of
his dreams. Final exam work Station Passage is a joint
class project.
1966
Having graduated from KGSZ, H.R.G. spends
a while in his parents’ vacation home
in Poiana, Tessin. Produces works such as
Torso, Head I, Head II etc. Starts a full
time job as a designer for Andreas Christen,
working on an office furniture program for
the Knoll International company. He lives
in the Rindermark with actor Paul Weibel,
meets Li Tober and falls madly in love with
the beautiful actress.
#@#
In addition to his nine-to-five job, he spends long nights
producing larger and larger ink drawings. The ink
is brushed onto Transcop paper using a toothbrush
and a wire sieve. The highlights are scratched away
with a razor blade and the darker areas are built
up with a rapidograph. First solo exhibition in the
Galerie Benno, Zurich.
1967
H.R.G. and Li move into an empty attic flat
in a neighboring condemned house. Here he
produces works such as Birth Machine, Under
the Earth and Astro-Eunuchs. H.R. G. meets
the writer Sergius Golowin and the film-maker
F.M. Murer.
He is featured in poet/provocateur Urban Gwerder’s
multi-media evening called “Poëtenz-Show”,
by the film High a ten-minute documentary
on his paintings made by F.M. Murer. In the
summer, he again spends some months in Tessin.
Produces sculptures: Beggar, Suitcase Baby,
and Life-Support, etc.
#@#
Back in Zurich in the fall, he paints small technical/organic
landscapes in oil on artist’s cardboard.
Fred E. Knecht. proprietor of the Galerie Obere
Zäune, includes paintings and objects by H.R.
Giger in the exhibition Macht der Masken (Power
of Masks).
1968
Basilo Schmid, nicknamed Pascha, an old friend from
Chur, persuades H.R.G. to give up his nine-to-five
job with Andreas Christen in order to devote
more time to art. H.R.G. works in the Tessin,
again, for a few weeks. F. M. Murer commissions
him to produce props for the planned 30-minutes
film Swissmade. He now attempts the difficult
task of creating a shell of polyester vinyl
for a dog and for the "monster".
This is his first extraterrestrial being,
and it has a built-in image and sound recorder
in its head and chest. Tina Gwerder plays
the superstar wearing this costume. Paul Waibels’s
dog wears its own tailor-made casing.
#@#
The
two houses in the Rindermarkt are demolished.
Li is engaged by the St. Gallen Stadttheater.
With the help of poet J.M. Seiler, H.R.G.
finds a large room in a shared apartment,
again in a condemned house n the Alte Feldeggstraße
in Zurich, where he continues to paint small
landscapes in oil. Gallery owner Bruno Bischofsberger
visits H.R.G. in his studio and buys a series
of ink drawings and oil paintings. He advises
H.R.G. to number and photograph all his works.
H.R.G. participates in the exhibition Hommage
à Che in the Galerie Stummer, Zurich.
1969
H.H. Kunz, friend, collector and co-owner
of Switzerland’s first poster publishing
company, prints H.R.G.’s first posters
and distributes them world-wide.
Jörg Stummer includes
two silk-screen prints in his catalogue.
Bruno Bischofsberger publishes the large silk-screen
portfolio Biomechanoids 1969. H.R.G. makes
his first and, to date, last, excursion into
theater designing costumes and make-up for
the actors in Edward Bond’s Early Morning,
a Peter Stein production at the Zurich Schauspielhaus.
#@#
1970
Li returns to Zurich and lives with Eveline
Bühler in Seefeld, not far from H.R.G.
In Eveline’s apartment, H.R.G. experiences
his first horror nightmare (see HR Giger’s
Necronomicon). This leads to his so-called
"wet-cell" paintings. The continuous-flow
water heater
inspires him to paint "The Four Elements".
This is followed by Bathtub, Kitchen with
Sink and WC. These paintings give impression
of being covered with skin. H.R.G. is offered
the chance of purchasing a small row house
with garden in Oerlikon, Zurich. In April,
after two months’ renovations, H.R.G.
and Li move in. The Galerie Bischofsberger
shows H.R.G.’s Passagen (Passages).
1971
F.M. Murer has been living in London for over
a year. An excuse for H.R.G. and Li to visit
England. Murer and H.R.G. decide to make the
documentary film Passagen on H.R.G.’s
pictorial world. London’s mysterious
docklands provide the first location.
#@#
1972
The Kassel Kunstverein holds an exhibition of
H.R.G.’s work. H.R.G. works on various
series: Passagen, Skin Landscapes and psychedelic
airbrush environments.
1973
Friedrich Kuhn – in H.R.G.’s estimation,
one of Switzerland’s greatest artists,
dies. He was a frequent guest at Li and Eveline’s
in 1969/70 and usually spent the night sleeping
at the kitchen table. H.R.G. and Kuhn were
bound by a deep friendship and mutual admiration.
To the Zurich art world, Kuhn was a master
of the art of living. Using an airbrush to
overpaint a series of photos taken of Kuhn
shortly before his death, showing the Magus
sitting on his favorite sofa, H.R.G. creates
the painting Hommage to Friedrich. |
|
 |
H.R.G. is commissioned to design a record
cover for the English rock group Emerson,
Lake and Palmer. He creates the cover for
the LP Brain Salad Surgery. During a two-week
"retreat", H.R.G., in collaboration
with Claude Sandoz and Walter Wegmüller,
creates Tagtraum (Daydream), a series of
four paintings.
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#@#
1974
Tagtraum is exhibited at the Bündner Kunstmuseum.
The atmosphere of the voluntary retreat during which
the work was created is captured in a documentary
film by J.J Wittmer.
1975
Passagen-Tempel (Passage Temple), a work that H.R.G.
has created expressly for the Galerie Sydow-Zirkwith,
is subsequently exhibited inthe foyer of the Bündner
Kunstmuseum.
Jörg
Stummer encourages Li to open her own gallery
in a space adjoining his. She shows Manon,
Pfeiffer and Klauke. At her last exhibition,
entitled Schuwerk (Shoe Works), where the
guests are invited to appear at the vernissage
in outlandish shoe creations, H.R.G.
films the guests
for the documentary Giger’s Necronomicon.
This film is produced in collaboration with
J.J. Wittmer. After this artistic stir, Li
falls back into a state of lethargy and ends
her life with a bullet.
#@#
1976
On February 5, H.R.G.’s birthday, the new
Galerie Sydow-Zirkwith opens in Frankfurt with an
exhibiton specially designed for the space. The
accompanying catalog illustrates all the works and
includes a lengthy text by Professor Albert Glaser.
The nine-year relationship with Li, which ended
so painfully with her death, leaves a terrible emptiness
in H.R.G.’s life.
The Second Celebration of the Four is held among
H.R.G.’s circle of friends at Ueli Steinle’s
Ugly Club in Richterswil; it is a Happening which
simultaneously represents the inauguration of the
club and a memorial for Li
| 
|
Through
contact with the American painter Bob Venosa, which leads via Salvador
Dali to Alexandro Jodorowsky, director of the films El Topo and Holy
Mountain, H.R.G. is commissioned to collaborate on the film Dune. From
a script by Moebius, H.R.G. designs the world of The Harkonnen. |
#@#
1978
HR Giger’s Necronomicon had just recently
been published in several languages in the
autumn of 1977. One of the first copies is
sent to Dan O’Bannon, who shows it to
Ridley Scott and 20th Century Fox, the company
in whom the Alien project has found a Hollywood
producer with ample financial resources. The
men from the film
company are convinced that H.R.G. is the right
man for the project.
At the beginning of February, director Ridley
Scott and two producers from 20th Century
Fox inform H.R.G. of the conditions and financial
arrangements regarding the film. Four hours
later, the ordeal is over and the gentlemen
travel back to the US. 20th Century Fox finances
an Alien portfolio of six silk-screen prints,
which H.R.G. hands over, signed and numbered,
to the film publicists.
1979
To promote the movie, H.R.G. is sent with
Mia, the troubleshooter, to Nice for the European
première, and from there to London
and Paris. Weeks later, he flies to New York,
and, after a stopover in Dallas where he gives
a total of 23 TV interviews in one day, he
finally turns up, stressed and depressed,
just in time to attend the preview in Hollywood
the company of Mia, Timothy Leary, and his
wife Barbara. The official release takes place
two days later in Graumann’s Egyptian
Theater on Sunset Boulevard. The huge Space-Jockey,
especially created for the film, is bought
in from England and displayed in front of
the cinema. It is later the victim of a pyromaniac
attack.
H.R.G. and Mia give interviews for up to five
hours a day. H.R.G. thereby develops a real
"Alien interrogation allergy". After
this mega-trip, H.R.G. and Mia marry.
#@#
1980
The designs and paintings for the film Alien
are shown first in Zurich, in the Galerie
Baviera, and then in The Musèe Cantonal
des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne. H.R.G. is nominated
for an Oscar.
Short stopover in New York in order to attend
the opening of H.R.G.’s exhibition in
the Hansen Galleries, New York. Bob Guccione has
published H.R.G.’s erotic pictures in
a fourteen-page color article in the American
Penthouse, and now sponsors the extravagant
exhibition opening.
On April 14, in the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion, H.R.G. is awarded an
Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects
for his contribution to the film Alien.
#@#
| 1981
H.R.G.’s N.Y. City paintings are inspired
by his five trips to New York and an important
template which his colleague Cornelius de
Fries, with whom he has been working on the
furniture project since the mid 1980s, brought
back home with him from one of his excursions
into the electronics industry.
Since spring 1979, in a specially rented
studio near H.R.G.’s home, de Fries
has been working on a technically highly complex
chair design, part of the "Harkonnen"
furnishings for the film Dune. |
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1982
In Zurich, a table (a variation of the chair)
and a mirror frame have now been added to
the furniture program. These are exhibited
and tested in the Nouvelle restaurant.
H.R.G. and Mia divorced after
approximately one and a half years. They remain
good friends.
In the fall, H.R.G. begins
designing the preliminary presentation for
The Tourist for the Universal film company.
In collaboration with director Brian Gibson
he produces seventy sketches and eleven large
paintings. Conny de Fries builds a model of
one of the sets of a scale of 1:100. |
#@#
| 1983
The series of Victory paintings, partially
airbrushed with day-glo paints, leads to the
Totems: naked, technical posts, each crowned
by a screaming head, rising up from a devastated
landscape. Similarly,
a lithograph entitled Mexican Bomb Pair is
starting point for a series of bomb paintings.
|
| H.R.G.
is invited to be guest of honor at the Madrid
and Brussels festival of fantastic films.
The film project The Tourist, has been put
aside following the huge success of E. T.
H.R.G. is invited to Munich by Horst Wendtland,
head of Rialto Films, to discuss a film version
of Momo, the children’s book by German
author Michael Ende. |
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A film group
from Paris presents another screenplay, based
on specific paintings by H.R.G., under the
title Passages. A further project, The Mirror,
another horror film from 20th Century Fox,
is also under discussion.
H.R.G. begins a series small-format sheets,
48 x 34cm, in which he uses his perspective
templates for the first time. Relief concrete
slabs by H.R.G. are manufactured in de Fries’
studio.
A new picture frame is produced in keeping,
in design, with the furniture program. |
#@#
| 1984
Retrospective exhibition in the Pfäffikom
Culture Center; exhibition catalogue published
by Edition ABC. Film on the retrospective
by Daniel Freitag and Rolando Colla. Ron Moore,
director of Future Kill, persuades Giger to
design the posters for his film. The posters
are |
|
| published
by Ed Neal, the legendary Texas Chainsaw Massacre
actor. Collaboration with Martin Schwarz.
Approximately fifteen paintings are produced.
Friendship with Marlyse greatly influences
Giger’s image of women. |
| 1985
Commissioned by MGM to create various horror
scenes for the film Poltergeist II, under
the direction of Brian Gibson. On December
1, 1984, H.R.G. and his manager fly to Los
Angeles. H.R.G. is signed for the film.
Giger’s colleague, de Fries, hired by
Richard Edlund (Boss Film), tries to push
through as |
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| 
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many
of Giger’s ideas as possible. De Fries
is permitted to produce only models, however.
On May 23, 1985, filming starts on location,
a supermarket in the desert near Los Angeles.
Giger and his manager meet Julian Beck, the
terminally-ill former head of the Living Theater.
H.R.G. realizes he’s worrying on the
wrong film. Too late! When he signed his contract,
no one had been willing of able to give H.R.G
any details of Aliens, going into production
at the |
|
same time. The early rushes of the children’s
horror movie Poltergeist II, written by Michael
Grais and Mark Viktor, look professional.
Richard Edlund’s special effects have
not been filmed yet, bit nevertheless, H.R.G.
is worried about the quality of the final
product, since the storyline is weak and not
to his taste. |
#@#
| H.R.G
is commissioned by Volvo to produce a painting
for Isaac Asimov’s short story The Route
to Hyperspace. In Zurich, Edition C reprints
Necronomicon 1 and 2. The deluxe edition in
an embossed cover contains an original lithograph,
printed by the legendary Max Winistorf, who
died shortly afterwards.
"BD Comics Festival"
in Sierre in Valais canton.
1986
Preparations for a large exhibition in the
galleries of the Seibu Museum of Art in Tokyo
in February 1987. Both Necronomicon 1 and
2 and Giger’s Alien translated into
Japanese and published by Treville. Catalan
Communications N.Y.C. publishes the first
English translation supplement of Necronomicon
2.
Commissioned by the Swiss
TV channel DRS to design a TV prize, the "Prix
Tell". Conny de Fries produces the model
following the designs of H.R.G.
In Japan, Sony launches the
first laser discs with cover designs by H.R.G.
Alexander Bohr films a 45-minute portrait
on The Fantastic Universe of H.R. Giger for
the German TV channel ZDF. Poltergeist II
is released worldwide. The film is a box office
hit in the United States, but in Europe it
soon disappears from the screen. H.R.G. is
very unhappy with visual interpretation of
his ideas. |
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#@#
| 1987
Exhibition in Japan organized by the Seibu
concern, Tokyo. In addition to the themes
of Giger’s Alien and Poltergeist II,
the show includes the original Alien monster,
a Harkonnen Chair and other original paintings.
H.R.G. paints a Japanese Excursion series
especially for this exhibition a Japanese
Giger Fan Club is founded (H.R. Giger Fan
Club, Biomechanoids 87, [Thoru Ito], D35-302,
1-2 Fuishiro-Dai, Suita City, Osaka, 565 Japan).
The following are discussed: Japanese-language
editions of existing books (Alien, Necronomicon
1 and 2) and the printing of six different
motifs and as posters, plus a cover for a
laser disc. Plans are also discussed for the
building of a Giger Far in Tokyo.
H.R.G. is commissioned to create the monster
Goho Dohji for a film by Japanese director
Akio Jitsusoji. |
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| 1988
After the exhibition in Japan, the most important
Giger books Giger’s – Necronomicon 1
and 2 and Giger’s Alien – are translated.
The Japanese Giger Fan Club issues a limited
edition of 100 signed and numbered copies
of their annual publication. A ten-volume
edition of A. Crawly and individual works
by Lovecraft and T. Leary are published in
slipcases with Giger motifs. Due to strict
construction codes, the four-story Giger bar
planned for Tokyo retains only fragments of
the original concept. |
#@#
| 
|
Despite
Giger’s qualms, the bar is built and
is inaugurated by U. Steinle. Exhibition at
Jes Petersen’s gallery in Berlin. Takes
part in an "Alchemy Symposium" at
St. Gallen. The book Biomechanics is published
by Edition C, Zurich, Peter Baumann; distributed
in France with a text supplement in French
by Bijan Aalam. "Expanded Drawings"
exhibition at Rolf Müller’s Galerie
Art Magazin. |
| 1989
Giger uses relief-type textures as a means
of bringing more life into the structure of
his color paintings. Produces illustrations
for Pier Geering’s Robofok story, lettering
by Daniel Affolter, and first color comics
for "Strapazin" and other magazines.
Negotiations with
A. Schraner lead to a, club members-only,
poster for the 10th international Hells Angels
meeting in Agasul, Switzerland. Negotations
on Alien 3 and talks with Ridley Scott on
a new film. Publication of Japanese edition
of Biomechanoids (Yuji Takeda, Tuttle-Mori,
Treville, Tokyo). Involvement in Engel, Teufel
und Dämonen (Angels, Devils and Demons),
a five-hour film by Heinz Dieckmann on fantastic
art. Giger writes down his reminiscences for
Benedikt Taschen Verlag, Cologne. Exhibition
in Chateau Yverdon |
| as
part of the PR for the first European science-fiction
museum, La Maison d’Ailleurs, which
is to open in 1991 as part of the 700th anniversary
celebrations of the founding of Swiss Confederation.
Participates for the third time in Fêtes
des Morts at Rolf Müller’s Galerie
Art Magazin. Collaboration on a cultural magazine
with Bettina and Hans Klink in Zurich. |
' 
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#@#
| 1990
H.R. Giger celebrates his fiftieth birthday.
Works on ideas for Ridley Scott’s film
The Train. Scott, however, postpones the film.
Preparations, with the energetic
assistance of Etienne Chatton and Barbara
Gawryziak, for the exhibition Alien dans ses
Meubles taking place in the Chateau Gruyères
from May to September. Breaks away from his
long-time manager, Ueli Steinle. Beginning
of his work with Leslie Barany, who has been
a good friend for 10 years, as his new agent.
Designs a bag for the Migros
Group with a print run of one million. Various
exhibition in the Kunsthaus in |
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| Chur in honor
of his birthday. Kunst und Krieg in Berlin.
Drawings in Guarda, and Nyon at the Galerie
Carrè Blanc. For CruschAlba restaurant
in Guarda, he designs one side of a gold coin
(value Sf. 250) to be used as a voucher for
a meal for two people.
Makes various iron casts of old sculptures.
Participates in several documentary films,
including Gens de la Lune for the television
program Viva By C. Delieutraz; Telè
cinè Romandie by Andrè Blanchoud;
and profiles for Japanese television.
Further work with Mia Bonzanigo. Mona Uhl
successfully battles the chaos in the house.
Furniture designs for the Giger Bar in Chur
in collaboration with T. Domenig, Chur. The
most important project this year, however,
is the design for the American film Alien
3. Preparatory work for ART 1991 in the Galerie
Hilt in Basel. Enquiries from Disney Imageneering
about future collaboration.
Works on his own film project, The Mystery
of San Gottardo. An accompanying book, in
the form of a graphic novel, in which Giger’s
Biomechanoids plays and an important role,
also takes shape. H.R.G. regards this year
as very important. |
#@#
| 
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1991
Design work for the film Dead Star by Bill
Malone. Exhibition Les Livres D’Esquisse
at Macadamla M.J.C. de Cluse, Cluse. "Arh+
book" vernissage at the Galerie Art Magazin,
Zurich. H.R.G. is visited Peter and Andreas
Bürki from Swatch. Interviewed for Warten
magazine by Rudolf Stoert and Dana Bordan.
At the Basel Art Fair91 Gallery Hilt presents
a one-man show with "swatched" Maxiwatches
from H.R.G.’s Watch Abart. The exhibition
H.R.G.’s Biomechanic Visions opens in
Davos with a talk by Jürg Federspiel.
The documentary Alien 1–3 by Paul Bernard,
including an interview with H.R.G., is |
| released
by CBS/20th Century Fox, together with the
laser disc Alien 1, which includes documentary
material and an interview with Z.R.G.. The
Giger Library Room is opened at the Maison
D’Ailleurs, Yverdon. Science fiction
museum with Giger Library, renovated prison
cells with paintings, sculptures and Alien
props. |
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| 1992
On February 8, the Giger Bar opens in the
Kalchbühl Center, Chur. The proprietor
is Thomas Domenig. Juhani Nurmi produces,
for Finnish television, the 30-minute documentary
Giger’s Passage to the Id in Davos,
Chur and at Walo Steiner’s in Asp. Jürg
Federspiel gives an interview for the program.
H.R.G. is interviewed in the Giger Bar for
a BBC Omnibus program on Ridley Scott. H.R.G.
meets Roman Güttinger, one of the largest
collectors of Alien props. H.R.G. takes part
in the Swiss television program Dynamix.
|
#@#
| Launch
of the computer game Dark Seed, produced by
Cyberdreams (Patrick Ketchum) utilizing the
works of H.R.G. Work on the Zodiac Fountain.
Large H.R.G. retrospective opens in the Museum
Baviera in Zurich.
H.R.G. writes a short story
about his occult experiences, which appears
in the book HR Giger Arh+ published by Benedikt
Taschen Verlag. Paul Grau subsequently features
the |
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| story
– about the Satan’s Head in H.R.G.’s
collection – in the program Unsolved Mysteries,
broadcast by the German television corporation
RTL.
Giger is given the 16mm film
Sex, Drugs and Giger, a 4 1/2 animation based
on his paintings, by Sandra Beretta and Bätsch.
The Baphomet Tarot created by H.R.G. and Akron
for A.G. Müller of Neuenhausen/Rhine
is premiered in the Giger Bar in Chur and
in the Museum Baviera, Zurich.
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| 1993
The Alien exhibition opens in the Museum Baviera,
Zurich. Roman Guttinger shows a large selection
from his private collection. The exhibition
is chiefly devoted to Alien 3 One-man retrospective
in the Galerie Humus. Interview with ARTE
TV. One-man show in the Galerie Herzog, Büren
zum Hof. From August onwards, H.R.G.- works
with Sandra Beretta on the projects close
to his heart, the books in particular. Swatch
decides not to collaborate with H.R.G. as
planned earlier. One-man show entitled H.R.
Giger’s Watch Abart ‘93 staged
in the Galerie Bertram, Burgdorf, and in the
Alexander Gallery, New York. The latter exhibition
is coordinated by Leslie |
|
Barany,
who also edits the catalog H.R. Giger’s
Watch Abart ‘93. |
#@#
| 1994
Sascha Serfoezoe and Mia Bonzanigo assume
charge, on Giger’s behalf, of exhibitions
in German, French and Italian speaking locations.
One-man show entitled Giger’s Watch
Abart in the Galerie Mangisch, Zurich; one-man
show in the Galerie Eclisse, Locarno. |
| H.R.G.
is guest lecturer for a semester at the College
of Design (GBMS) in Zurich. In February, he
begins work on the film Species for MGM.
Takes part in group exhibitions
in the Galerie Hartmann, Munich, at the Tattoo
Convention in Bologna, and in the festivals
Fetisch & Kult, Tempel, Munich and Du
Fantastique au Vesionnaire in Venice. H.R.G.
starts planning a Giger-Museum to present
the fullscope of his work. Begins work on
the ghost train for Species in collaboration
with Atelier de Fries and Andy Schedler of
FormArt. |
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Giger’s beloved mother Melly dies at
the age of 89.
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1995
Serfoezoe works with Giger on special projects.
He develops the special gift of being able
to decipher H.R.G.’s handwriting without
wanting to change its content or put it in
good German. The ghost train is transported
to L.A.. One-man show as part of the 13ème
festival du film fantastique in Brussels.
One-man show |
| in Giessen Kunsthalle,
Konfrontationen with Sybille Ruppert. Other
exhibitions including Le Train Fantôme
in the Maison D’Ailleurs, Yverdon; Synaesthesia,
Mary Anthony Galleries, N.Y.C., Psychedelic
Lolution Gallery, N.Y.C.; Abitare il Temo,
Delirium Design, Verona. |
#@#
| Continues
work on Species, the science-fiction film
by R. Donaldson based on the screenplay by
D. Feldman and produced by Frank Mancuso,
Jr. for MGM, L.A.. For the film, H.R.G. designs
and extraterrestrial beauty and a "minimalized"
ghost train. The film is released in the USA
in July and is MGM’s biggest success
to date: box office take is US$ 17.1 million
in one weekend alone. |
| 
|
H.R.G.’s
work on Species inspires him to build a garden
train, which he creates as outdoor installation,
constructing a 7 1/4-gauge railway in his
garden. He is helped by Harry Omura, Florian,
Stahl & Traum, Ball & Sohn, Robert
Christoph Jr., Marco Poleni, Fritz Rütimann,
Andy Stutz and Tanja Wolfensberger. H.R.G.
and S. Beretta tackle several book projects,
including the book accompanying the film Species,
published before the year is out, and another
book on Giger’s film designs. The editing
and translating of both of these books is
supervised by Les Barany. He launches his
project, H.R. Giger Under Your Skin and begins
to assemble photographs of tattoos featuring
Giger motifs. |
1996
Zurich, Kunsthaus: Illusion, Emotion, Realität,
a centennial exhibition celebrating 100 years
of film, curated by Dr. H. Szeemann. Further
exhibitions in Vienna, Venice and Barcelona.
F. Alain Gegauf becomes a friend and advisor
to H.R.G.. H.R.G. participates with four drawings
Sex Education Charts in the Erotika exhibit
at the Kunsthaus Zürich.
H.R. Giger also works with Leslie Barany on
a comprehensive book on his Mystery of San
Gottardo project, to be published simultaneously
in English and German. |
|
| Together with
computer graphics specialists Fabian Wicki
in Berne and PanVision, H.R.G. creates 3-D
images for a 1996 Benedikt Taschen calendar
and begins on the book www H.R. Giger com. |
#@#
|
Mia organizes a big
retrospective in Milan, at the Palazzo
Bagatti Valsecchi, H.R. Giger – Visioni
di Fine Millennio, Arteutopia. Development
of an idea for a new film project based
on a story and sculpture by H.R.G.:
The Cross and the Blade. Experiments
with holograms, 100 x 100cm, in collaboration
with Urs Fries and Fischers. |
|
|
| In collaboration
with Thomas Riehm, the official Giger Internet
WebSite goes online on March 19 under the
address www.HRGiger.com. In the first year,
over 200,000 visitors from over 100 countries
log on.
|
1997
Giger's new book www HRGiger com, an authentic
life story of Giger from the early sixties
till today, is published by the publishing
company Benedikt Taschen, Cologne, On the
11th of September the St. Germain Gruyères
AG purchase by auction the Castle St. Germain
for the formation of the new Giger-Museum.
|
#@#
| |
1998
Giger's new book Mystery of San Gottardo is
published by the publishing company Benedikt
Taschen – Cologne. Book H.R. Giger's Retrospective
1964–84, Morpheus International – Los Angeles.
CFM Gallery, New York, International Artists
– Peep Show. Sapporo, Museum Otaru, Phantastic
Realism. Caliban Gallery, New York, Sculptures
and |
| Prints, curated
by Leslie Barany. Private Art-Collection of
HR Giger at the Castle St. Germain – Gruyeres.
|
2000
H.R. Giger celebrates his sixtieth birthday.
More than 1.000.000 visitors on Giger's official
WebSite www.HRGiger.com.
Giger creates the mic-stand for the group
"Korn".
2001
Carmen and Ingrid Lehner replace Barbara Gawrysiak
as the directors of the HR Giger Museum. –
Alf Bättig (KoKo) and Frank Holler join
the Giger crew. |
|
2002
TASCHEN publishes ICON HR GIGER with text
by the world famous psychiatrist Dr. Stanislav
Grof, a good friend of Carmen and HRG. The
foreword is by Les Barany, Giger's agent and
friend. Launch of the H.R. Giger Museum jewelry
line, rings, pendants, and belt-buckles. In
March, a memorable trip to New York City with
Carmen and Ronald Brandt for the opening of
HR Giger / NYC 2002 at Fuse Gallery.
|
#@#
| 2003
April 12, celebration for the opening of the
HR Giger Museum Bar and the opening of |
the Martin Schwarz exhibition,
Among the Living, in the Museum Gallery.
Jean François and Isabelle Chappellay
are the new bar keepers. August 30, the
unveiling HR Giger's Sabotage sculpture
on Harakka Island, Finland.
September 5, opening of the exhibition,
HR Giger, Woodstock 2003, at the Fletcher
Gallery, in Woodstock, NY, curated by Les
Barany. August 7th, the presentation of
Giger's "Tattoo Biomechanoid"
sculpture as an award for the Best HR Giger
Tattoo at the Woodstock Tattoo & Body
Arts Festival. November, American sculptor
Paul Komoda visits and stays at Giger’s
home in Zurich to work with him on the Baphomet
pendant.
|
| |
2004
August 5, opening of exhibition at the LOEB
emporium in Bern, introducing the limited
edition print for the financing and construction
of the HR Giger Museum Castle Train Ride.
September 16 – February 6, 2005, Le monde
selon H.R. Giger (The World According to
H.R, Giger), a 5 month retrospective at
Museum Halle
|
Saint Pierre, in Paris,
co-curated by Stephan Stuck i/ Art Communication.
September 21, opening of Biomechanoides
Paris at Galerie Arludik in Paris, December
17, H.R. Giger receives the La Médaille
de la Ville de Paris award at Paris City
Hall.
2004 also saw the release
of the Chtulhu News, a limited edition portfolio
of 6 prints, the H.R. Giger sterling silver
Baphomet pendant, the introduction of LI
II, the first in a series of five H.R. Giger
collectibles from McFarlane Toys, the introduction
of the Giger SmartSkin for cell phones by
Wildseed Ltd. and the completion of several
important projects, with the indispensable
help of Giger's number one and long time
sculpting assistant, Ronald Brandt, the
three-dimensional Passage sculptures, the
mini Harkonnen environment, a prototype
car for the Castle Train Ride, and last
but not least, the Alien Back-scratcher.
|
#@#
| |
2005
Ibanez Guitars introduces the HR Giger Signature
Guitar Series.
The opening of Works Never Shown at the Galerie
Baviera, Zurich. April 14 – July 13: HR Giger
in Prague, a retrospective at the National
Technical Muzeum, Prague, Czech Republic.
The success of the show is marred by the fact
that the two important paintings ELP I and
IIdisappeared before the |
|
works were returned to Zurich after the close
of the exhibition.
Grof Transpersonal Training
(www.holotropic.com) and Carmen organize a
seminar in the museum with Stanislav Grof
and HR Giger. Special guest is their friend
Albert Hofmann. The 99 years old discoverer
of LSD is still in very good shape.
On December 1st Urs Tremp
opens up the Gigeregg in St.Gallen, Switzerland
– a shop offering Giger art and items (www.gigeregg.ch).
Eli Livingston, under Giger’s supervision,
finishes sculpting the silver Guardian Angel
pendant in time for Christmas. Dr. Carlos
Arenas of the University of Valencia, Spain,
publishes his PhD thesis, El mundo de Hr.
Giger.
|
#@#
| 2006
Giger and Carmen get married.
|
| |
May,
24, Opening of a big retrospective in the
KunstHausWien in Vienna, co-curated by Stephan
Stucki. The vernisage serves as opportunity
for a happy reunion of the artist’s
close friends, affectionately referred to
as the “Giger Gang”. Sept. 2,
Giger attends the opening ceremonies of the
Internationale Biennale Austria-2006 in Hüttenberg,
Kärnten. |
In a renewed relationship
with Celtic Frost an agreement is reached
to license the Satan I painting as T-shirts,
commemorating the 20th anniversary of its
first appearance as the cover of their first
album, To Mega Therion.
October, 5, Giger attends
the opening of the group exhibition In den
Alpen, at the Kunsthaus Zürich. Matthias
Belz and Marco Witzig prepare
the complete work catalog. Les Barany
shows he is still a great art director by
designing a new series of ads for the 2006
edition of Ibanez guitars.
2007
Solo exhibition from June to September at
the Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur. – Start
of the new homepage www.hrgigermuseum.com.
Together with Ronald Brandt, Giger finishes
a 1/6 scale, fully detailed, model of the
Museum Giger Bar.
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