Stranger Things

Artists

Xenia Hausner

Press release

Patricia Low Venezia is delighted to present Stranger Things, the first solo presentation by renowned Austrian artist Xenia Hausner with the gallery. In subtle connection with the overarching theme of this year’s Venice Biennale, Foreigners Everywhere, the exhibition gathers a series of recent paintings and several sculptures, including a wall sculpture – a new development within the artist’s oeuvre. All the works in the show further explore ideas that are consistent with her entire oeuvre: The Female.

Hausner‘s brightly colorful paintings picture individuals in moments of connection and transit. Stranger Things (2023), the painting that lends its title to the exhibition, shows three female characters in what seems to be a night club. However, many details in this picture tend to contradict our initial assumptions and, in a classic Hausner’s manner, leave once more the narrative ambivalent and open to interpretations. What exactly is that place with a curious painted floor? What brings these three characters together in this picture? Are the gestures between the two younger women an expression of their sexual attraction? In fact, the female characters Hausner portrays embody all genders and play various roles – like actors they explore a variety of relationships.

Three new sculptures echo the themes and figures in the paintings. In Spill (2024), a professionally attired female figure is slicked with what appears to be crude oil. A bird drenched in the same viscous black liquid perches upon her head, as she holds on to a red and white life-ring. Atemluft (2024), which means “A Breath of Air,” addresses air pollution. In Xenia Hausner’s own words: “Atemluft is a concrete image of desperation, a struggle for what we need the most in order to live. What are we losing? What have we put at risk?”. As in the paintings, these are scenes of outreach, of attempts at salvage in a turbulent world. In their ambiguous echoing of present realities, the works extend a quiet, connecting thread to the lyrical title of this year’s Venice Biennale, Foreigners Everywhere.

Preview: 17th of April: 15:00-18:00