Inge Asenbaum and the Galerie am Graben
Inge Asenbaum was renowned for her discerning eye, insatiable curiosity, and compassionate patronage. Her Galerie am Graben in Vienna was a key center for contemporary jewelry artists in the mid-20th century. Asenbaum encouraged both fledging talents and illustrious luminaries to boldly explore new ideas, and to challenge conventions of what jewelry could be.
Ingeborg Irene Liesbeth Wald was born on January 6, 1925. As she grew up in Vienna, she intended to become an actor, but World War II made her reconsider her plans. After the war, Inge met her husband, Herbert Asenbaum, who came from a family of art dealers. In 1952, the Asenbaums established their own gallery in Vienna. Inge was particularly interested in pieces produced by the group of artists known as the Wiener Werkstätte (or Vienna Workshop) in the early 20th century. (For some examples of Wiener Werkstätte works from the DMA’s collection, see 2013.31.A–E.McD and 2004.9). By 1972, Inge Asenbaum gained enough success acquiring and selling Wiener Werkstätte treasures to open her own gallery. It was located across from St. Stephen’s Cathedral in a ditch. Accordingly, Asenbaum named her business Galerie am Graben—or “gallery in a ditch.”
At the Galerie am Graben, Asenbaum expanded her purview. While she continued to deal in Wiener Werkstätte furniture, she became captivated by contemporary jewelry. The artist Peter Skubic had a particularly profound impact on Asenbaum’s outlook. His audacious approach to jewelry fascinated her. He made works using novel materials and raised key questions about what jewelry is. In 1974, Skubic created the stainless-steel door handles for the Galerie am Graben (2014.33.305.1), which he based on the design of a 1972 gold brooch (2020.45.62). He also introduced Asenbaum to a host of contemporary jewelry artists.
Asenbaum patronized artists from her native Austria (Fritz Maierhofer, Manfred Nisslmüller) and from around the world—the Netherlands (Gijs Bakker, Emmy van Leersum), Great Britain (Wendy Ramshaw, David Watkins), Spain (Marta Breis, Ana Font), Italy (Giampaolo Babetto, Francesco Pavan), Germany (Friedrich Becker, Claus Bury, Hermann Jünger, Gerd Rothmann), the United States (Arline Fisch, William Harper), and many other countries. As the Cold War continued into the 1970s and 1980s, Asenbaum was unique in supporting artists from Eastern Europe, including Anton Cepka, Václav Cigler, and Vratislav Karel Novák. She empathized with their isolation and the devaluation of their livelihood behind the iron curtain. Through her efforts, their pertinent, provocative works received greater exposure.
Throughout her career, Asenbaum defined jewelry as unique signed works by artists with artistic merit equal to paintings and sculptures. Asenbaum advocated for contemporary jewelry artists by organizing exhibitions at the Galerie am Graben and producing publications. She also built her own personal holdings. After each exhibition, she would often acquire the best pieces. Her children Paul and Elisa Asenbaum remembered, “it was a collection to wear, to put somewhere in her house and hang on the wall. She kept her collection in boxes, drawers, and cabinets, with drawings on the wall, not locked away in a safe—certainly not. . . . her wish was that the jewelry would stay together as a collection, and that it would be presented, and be on display.”
Even after the Galerie am Graben closed in 1989, Asenbaum continued building her collection. Some of it was shown in the 2000 exhibition Alles Schmuck (All Jewelry) at the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich, Switzerland. Ultimately, Asenbaum’s wish to keep her collection together was fulfilled when Edward W. and Deedie Potter Rose bought it in 2014 and donated it to the Dallas Museum of Art. When Asenbaum died at age ninety-one in 2016, her longtime friend Peter Skubic described her enormous impact: “without her engagement, jewelry [would not have had the] position in the world as is does now.”
Images: Exterior of Galerie am Graben, Vienna, 1981. Asenbaum archival papers, DMA Archive; Peter Skubic, Brooch, 1972, white gold, and Door handle for Galerie am Graben, 1974, stainless steel, Dallas Museum of Art, gifts of Edward W. and Deedie Potter Rose, formerly Inge Asenbaum collection, Galerie am Graben in Vienna, 2020.45.62 and 2014.33.305.1. © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Bildrecht, Vienna. Photo by Chad Redmon; Inge Asenbaum at Galerie am Graben during Elisa Asenbaum and Martin Tiefenthaler’s exhibition, Wertfreier Schmuck (Valueless Jewelry), 1981. Asenbaum archive papers, DMA Archive.