CHRISTOS HAAS (born 1982, Vienna)

describes his images as a kind of mind-set. And indeed, there is a theatrical or even cinematic moment in almost all of his drawings. Haas, who completed his film and media studies with a thesis on Takeshi Kitano, is also an actor himself; initially he appeared in theatrical productions, but in recent years turned to film productions. Thus, in his drawings, either obvious or concealed, he borrows from the genres film, cartoon and video games. His line, however, lacks the smoothness, the domesticated aspect of most of the techniques in this field of applied arts. His drawings are more restless, the bodies more amorphous and the images live from strong contrasts. Haas works with atmospheric contrasts, such as a color scheme that ranges from sweet to loud, or scenes that shift between the abysmal and the superficial.

Haas’ artistic base has been in the studio of the artist Erika Seywald for many years. In order to be able to work quickly despite his poor sight, he finds the necessary assistance with her. Recently, Haas has also started to use the offer at Atelier 10 to work on larger sheets.