The show on the occasion of the museum’s 10th anniversary in 2016 was devoted to Johann Hauser. It was not long at all before he became the star of the Gugging Artists.  He experienced his first solo show at a museum as early as in 1979. On account of his striking lines, Hauser earned and the high esteem and recognition of other artist colleagues—from Jean Dubuffet to Arnulf Rainer. Peter Pongratz described him as his teacher, who showed him what art was. Hauset worked entirely in the spirit of the Art Brut defined by Dubuffet in the Forties: primal, uninfluenced, direct, and unbeautified. In a short space of time he achieved something other artists wait a lifetime for: he discovered his own design vocabulary, which secured him a place in art history and in many private and public collections. Hauser’s flamboyant likenesses of women and intensely colorful depictions are impressive to this day.  He knew how to use colored pencils so intensively that his works resemble painting in many layers.
This show brought together more than 200 works, which introduced Hauser’s entire oeuvre and came from many public and private collections.

The exhibition’s works were supplemented by ample material in the prestigious book published to accompany it; a comprehensive profile of the first well-known Gugging Artist was the result.

Curator: Johann Feilacher