Anselm Wagner

Anselm Wagner has been a full professor and head of the Institute for Architectural Theory, Art and Cultural Studies at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) since March 2010. He concurrently serves as coordinator of the KUWI Graz doctoral programme and dean of studies of the Doctoral School at the Faculty of Architecture, TU Graz. Affiliated with numerous advisory boards—including the Graz Old Town Expert Commission, the City of Graz Advisory Board for Art in Public Space, the Centre for Intermediality Studies at the University of Graz, and the Critical Studies in Architecture board at Goethe University Frankfurt—he is an influential figure in Austrian architectural academia and cultural policy.

Education & Early Career

• 1965: Born in Salzburg, Austria.
• Studies: Art history, philosophy and classical archaeology at the Universities of Salzburg and Munich.
• 1991: Diploma thesis on Romanesque architecture in South Tyrol.
• 2002: Doctoral dissertation on the history of the Salzburg Art Association.
• 1988-1996: Freelance art critic, exhibition curator, and co-founder/director of Galerie 5020 Salzburg.
• 1996-2009: Teaching positions and visiting professorships at universities in Vienna, Salzburg, Linz, Graz, and Minneapolis.

Research Interests

Professor Wagner’s work is anchored in critical architectural theory and the history and theory of contemporary architecture and art. He examines the institutional and scientific histories that shape architectural discourse, with a particular focus on purity and dirt as aesthetic categories of modernity. His FWF-funded projects have investigated Buddhist architecture in the Western Himalayas and solar design knowledge via the Sun Houses of Konrad Frey. Additional strands include cross-epochal image studies and cultural analyses that bridge medieval iconography with present-day spatial practices.

Publications & Editorial Work

Since 2012 he edits the book series architektur und analyse (jovis, Berlin) and has acted as chief editor of GAM Graz Architecture Magazine. His 2019 co-edited volume Architekturführer Graz (456 pp.) offers an authoritative guide to the city’s architectural heritage. Recent theoretical essays explore neoliberal spatial logics, the politics of heritage, and the semiotics of modernist absence.

Grants & Projects

• FWF Project “Buddhist Architecture in the Western Himalayas: Architectural Research in Dolpo/Nepal” (2018-2021)
• FWF Project “The Sun Houses of Konrad Frey: Environmental Research and Solar Design Knowledge” (2016-2019)
• Coordinator, KUWI Graz doctoral programme
• Dean of Studies, Doctoral School, Faculty of Architecture, TU Graz

Advisory & Professional Service

Wagner sits on the scientific advisory boards of the Linzer Beiträge zur Kunstwissenschaft und Philosophie, the Centre for Intermediality Studies (CIMIG) at the University of Graz, and the Critical Studies in Architecture network at Goethe University Frankfurt. He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) and has served on municipal commissions for art in public space and historic-town conservation.