Eisch, Erwin, 1927-

Erwin Eisch was born in Frauenau, Germany in 1927. His father was a master engraver at the Isador Gistl glass factory. After serving in the German army in 1945, Eisch apprenticed under his father from 1946 to 1948 and studied at the Zweisel Glassmaking School and the Munich Academy of Fine Arts from 1946 to 1952.

In the mid-1950s, Eisch helped his family establish the Glashütte Valentin Eisch. He then returned to the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1956. He was a member of Gruppe SPUR, an avant-garde artistic group affiliated with the Situationist International.

In 1962, Eisch married glass artist Margarete Stadler in 1962. In that same year, he met American Studio Glass artist Harvey Littleton. The two became close friends and influenced each other’s artwork and artistic processes. As a Studio Glass artist, Eisch was known for free-blown and mold-blown glass sculptural works. Later in his career, he turned to painting, drawing, printmaking, and vitreography.