XENIA HAUSNER
LUCKY BREAK

15. February 2006 - 14.May 2006, daily 10.00 – 19.00 hrs

A stroke of luck - tough luck. In her new work, Xenia Hausner constructs a fictitious reality, which she re-invents taking unexpected turns. She explores an utopia of failures and possibilities and thus comments our time. We see people walking on tightrope, continually imperilled by the stumbling blocks of the reality of the absurd, and we see the moments of happiness to whom they submit. In these moments, the conception of reality coincides with the concrete experience. The first nature and the second, the reflected one, are unquestioningly united for a short while. In the ideal case, the construction of the reality is identical with its nature.

In Xenia Hausner’s early work we saw human beings in their estrangement, now we experience them in amazingly extreme situations, their existence has been thrown off balance; what remains is their yearning. They can experience happiness, but they are always threatened by the fall into disaster. Both is unexpected. Life is an experiment.

We show 40 large works of the last two years, among them about 20 large format works shown for the first time.

A catalogue book in German and English is being issued for this exhibition by the publishers Prestel.

Press presentation: Wednesday, 14 February 2006– 10.30 hrs (only with invitation!!)
Exhibition opening: Wednesday, 14 February 2006– 19.00 hrs

For further information and photo material please contact:
Sabine Schmeller, Verena Schrom
KunstHausWien Pressestelle:
Tel. 0043/1/712 04 95-14, Fax 0043/1/712 04 96
e-mail: sabine.schmeller@kunsthauswien.com, verena.schrom@kunsthauswien.com