HAUSER johann

1926 . bratislava . slovakia

1996 . psychiatric hospital of gugging . austria

Hauser grew up as an orphan in a home for handicapped children. He was first placed in a mental hospital at age 17, and in 1949 he was transferred to the clinic in Gugging, where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He soon showed artistic tendencies, and so Pr. Leo Navratil placed him in the clinic’s House of Artists. Hauser’s main subject was women overflowing with sexuality whose desire often feels aggressive. He also liked flying machines and various everyday items. According to Pr. Navratil, in his manic phases he tended to make everything bigger and stronger, to multiply, emphasize and beautify things, while the works from his depressive periods are darker, smaller and for more abstract.