ULLA HASEN

Ulla Hasen’s childhood was filled with immersive experiences in nature and the observance of her talented grandfather’s handicraft and painting. Despite this inspiring role model, Ulla herself never felt inclined to engage in painting or drawing, as she lacked the desire to depict specific subjects. Instead, she pursued studies in landscape ecology and dedicated her efforts to working on sustainable development. Ulla attended lectures on cultural theory, anthropology, perception theory, aesthetic theory, and art history at various universities in Vienna. It was only after gaining distance from the notion of depicting something specific that Ulla finally found the impetus to delve into painting.

“In a series of studies on water, I tried to follow the intrinsic energetic qualities of a medium in this very moment, where its utmost power merges with fragility. Water is the manifold threatened basis of life and can comprise so many opposed qualities—and therefore, ever since has been a mirror for reflection on life and transformation. These paintings are created within seconds out of an inner momentum of concentration on these specific qualities.”