Otto Baier – Metal

The Munich-based blacksmith and metal designer Otto Baier has been inseparably linked with Bavarian and German arts and crafts for over half a century. He was born in 1943 into one of the oldest smithies in nearby Obermenzing, where he grew up alongside the forge’s fire from the earliest days of his life. After training as a blacksmith, he completed his education with the master craftsman’s examination and the state examination as a graduate designer at the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen.

Bowl object, Woge 1, 2013/14. Drop-forged steel, l 90 cm, w 34 cm, h 17 cm. Photo Otto Baier.

Spherical iron object made of several parts in the garden of the metalsmith and artist in Munich, where nature is allowed to unfold. Photo Eva Jünger.

Otto Baier provides a prime example of the unity of craftsmanship and art, which already manifests itself in many ways in the workshop in Munich. Photo Eva Jünger.

In addition to teaching at the master schools for blacksmiths in Munich and Augsburg between 1970 and 1983, he also earned renown as a freelance metal designer. He already participated in the international Kunstschmiedetage in Lindau in 1969 and in the special show “Exempla” at the International Crafts Fair in Munich in 1970. During the more than fifty years of his creative career, he has consistently created metalworks of the highest quality.

The spectrum of Otto Baier’s works also includes commissioned outdoor works such as this metal grille. Photo Eva Jünger.

Galerie Handwerk honors his oeuvre with this solo exhibition, which features works from the 1960s to contemporary pieces.

The cover story in the autumn 2021 edition of Art Aurea was dedicated to Otto Baier. Copies of that issue are available at Galerie Handwerk for the special price of five euros.