Lion Figurine, c. 1925

Katharina Rix-Tichacek (born in 1901), called Kitty, was born in Vienna to Jewish parents. Her older sister was the artist Felice Rix (1893–1967). From 1924 Kitty Rix followed in her sister’s footsteps and, like her, worked for the Wiener Werkstätte from 1928. There, she began an internship in 1926 with Eduard J. Wimmer-Wisgrill (1882–1961), the founder of the fashion department for textile work. In 1925 she participated in the Paris World Fair. Rix designed original, figural ceramic works that were considered autonomous sculptures and not just utilitarian pottery. Her Lion Figurine from around 1925 is one of many animal figurines designed by Rix. The lion appears with its left leg on an orange ball and its head turned to the side. The proportions and simple depiction highlight the work’s incompleteness and thus emphasize the task of modeling and the process of creation. Rix created her last known works for the Wiener Werkstätte in 1931 and subsequently disappeared. Nothing was ever heard of her after that.

EF, 2021