Portrait of the Artist
Christian Folie
Christian Folie was born on April 28, 1927 in the small village of Mals in the Vinschgau Valley in South Tyrol. He was the fourth of ten children born to his parents. After their father’s early passing, the siblings had to help everywhere they could. That summer, Christian developed a close friendship with Karl Plattner. Together they herded cows in exchange for a meal.
Christian was sent to boarding school in Ravenna after completing elementary school in Mals. When he returned to his native valley of Vinschgau, he found employment as a writer for the town hall in Glurns. His first serious attempts at painting stem from this period. Although Folie’s friendship to Plattner would deepen during this time, the latter was unable to persuade him to attend the academy of the arts in Florence. Folie had found a job and wouldn’t have had the necessary money to pay for university anyway.
After getting his high school diploma, Folie and his family moved to Völs where he began to work as municipal clerk. During this time, he began devoting himself passionately to painting. He joined the Südtiroler Künstlerbund, the South Tyrolean League of Artists, in 1957. Folie participated in all group exhibitions of the league at home as well as abroad. At the same time he would also exhibit his art in various single exhibitions in- and outside of South Tyrol. These works documented his development and transition from the figurative to the abstract very clearly.
He set up his first group exhibition with his friends Karl Plattner, Willy Valier, Josef Kienlechner, Hubert Mumelter and Mario Dall‘Aglio in the old school building of Völs. Years of a lively artistic life and intense exhibitioning together with his artist friends followed. Folie showed a particular preference for expressionists but had always been searching for his own forms of expression and succeeded in finding them. His passionate and lively use of colors created dreamlike visions. While in real life he was quiet and reserved, painting was where his emotions found expression.
After his business studies, he began to work as the town clerk in Brixen, an employment he would keep up until his retirement. Having retired from the professional world, Folie could now devote his time completely to painting. He would experience several very creative and productive years. The large canvas paintings were his favorite and hence have been the vital centre of exhibitions in recent years.
Christian Folie passed away on August 10, 2013 in Völs am Schlern.