The World as Drawn by Emmy Haesele

Having grown up in an upper-middleclass environment, after World War I Emmy Haesele (1894 – 1987) and her physician husband settled in Unken, a municipality near Lofer. Engrossed in philosophy and theosophy, she began to experiment with drawing in 1931. The writer and brother-in-law of Alfred Kubin, Oskar A H Schmitz, soon arranged a meeting between the metaphysically inclined artist and the renowned draughtsman. A relationship lasting until 1936 developed between the aging magician based in Zwickledt and young, self-assured Emmy.

Inspired by her visions, she creates expressive, fairy-tale and occasionally sharply disquieting images. Her choice of themes keeps expanding outward: from her own lovesickness and the death of close relatives to religious motifs and secular themes and global issues related to the protection of the environment and the Cold War. The exhibition at the Lentos seeks to provide a comprehensive retrospective.

Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue with a foreword by Hemma Schmutz and text contributions by Barbara Wally, Ferdinand Altnöder and Brigitte Reutner-Doneus. 120 pages, € 22, Germain only