(born in Vienna in 1951)
“Pure Cool”, monogrammed, dated X. H.16 as well as on the reverse titled, monogrammed, dated “Pure Cool” X. H.16, acrylic, oil on dibond, 149 x 179 cm, framed

Provenance:
Art trade, Germany

PICTORIAL SOVEREIGNTY
AN ATTEMPT AT A THEORY BEHIND XENIA HAUSNER’S ART

MOTIF, MODE, MODERNITY

The figures upon which Xenia Hausner bestows picture-worthiness have something ephemeral about them. They seem damageable rather than damaged. They strike you as cool or blasé rather than arrogant or inapproachable; they appear shy rather than imbued with some scandalous, rustic “Here I am, that’s the way I am.” And when they seem to express interest, their attention is focused on concrete circumstances. Xenia Hausner’s figures have something temporary, something left to the discretion of a situation, something transitory and instantaneous. Whether they really are what they purport to be, whether authenticity distinguishes them, is a secondary issue. Xenia Hausner’s figures are appearances for a presentation, rendered for the moment of their offering. They seem to play roles, and sometimes they wear a mask, literally. The figures are simply there, as present as they are presented. They have no problem with the circumstance of assuming a pose.
Rainer Metzger from: Xenia Hausner, You and I, Prestel Verlag 2008, p. 134