About

Anna Steinhäusler is an artist living in Vienna who works in the fields of painting, ceramics and restoration. In restoration, she deepens her interest in historical craft techniques and materials science. She graduated in painting and animated film from the University of Applied Arts Vienna. In her figurative paintings and ceramic sculptures, she explores the irrevocable relationship between humans and nature and the recognition of living relationships as the basis for mutual survival. In her figurative work, one encounters representations of humans and nature that transcend the individual and portray networks of relationships.

'I create figures that function like open, porous forms that are permeated by something and remain in contact. When I allow them to visually fuse with their environment, they enter into a close relationship. They abandon isolation and become part of a larger structure and network. In doing so, they come closer to life itself, which is based on a shared process of becoming within relationships. In the relationship constellations depicted in paintings and ceramic sculptures, the human figures are at home in nature. They do not dominate the space or stand isolated from their surroundings; rather, they are interwoven with landscapes and connected to the flora and fauna. In the exhibition space, one encounters in the artworks both individuals and networks of relationships with which one can engage. The topics of my artworks draw on a close connection with nature, as well as a sense of bewilderment and unease: the fact that our species, as part of nature, is dependent on it, yet is capable of distancing itself to such an extent that nature is reduced to a mere commodity that must serve a purpose for us.

Portrait by Andrej Grilc