The young contemporary Austrian artist Adrian Hazi, is a student studying printmaking at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, in the Jan Svenungsson class.
In December 2020, he had his first solo show at the Bildraum Gallery in Vienna, their youngest artist to date to have a solo show.
The artist has also brought to life a project he calls FREIDRUCK. He makes a limited number of high-quality prints he then removes them from their usual setting like a gallery, and hangs them in public spaces.
These prints are not for sale, they are partly financed by one person he connects with on Insta-story. This person then receives an original print in return.
I always enjoyed drawing, but I never really thought about being an artist. When I was a kid, I remember wanting to be an architect.
When I started a high-school with a specialization in graphic design, I soon realized that I didn’t want to make this my profession.
I liked the painting and printmaking classes way more, and was drawing a lot at school or at home.
When I was around 14 years old, my personal thoughts and experiences started to play an important role in my drawings, since then they have become one of my main themes.
It didn‘t change until now and i think it is a big reason why i always stuck to doing art. It might sound a bit cliche, but it is like self-therapy for me.
I was born in Vienna but my parents are from a village in eastern Romania. They migrated not long before I was born and worked hard so me and my brother could settle in.
From a young age, I was confronted with the contrast between life in a big western city, and the one in a village in eastern Europe.
This working-class background and the experiences coming from an immigrant family have certainly influenced me.
I assume it shaped my views on politics and increased my interest in society and social structures, which is expressed in some of my work.
Right now I prefer to work at home, my flatmates and I have a home studio. The living room is also our atelier and it works very well (at least for me), the only downside is that now in times of Covid I hardly leave the apartment.
I am a morning person so I like to start doing things right after I wake up, working at night is also fine as long as I'm not too tired. In order to concentrate, I need a calm environment, because I get distracted quickly.
That's why I prefer working alone while listening to music or podcasts.
I think that I have two main sources of inspiration, the first one being my personal life, my thoughts, relationships, experiences, and past.
This source comes and fades, but it is mostly present when there are things bothering me. Drawing or painting these things seems to make it easier for me to process them.
You could compare it to talking to someone about a problem or writing it down. Maybe some thoughts need to be formulated this way, I think that's why I like creative working so much.
The second source of inspiration are random thoughts and ideas. Things like interesting observations, philosophical concepts, music, etc.
They either create an urge to get right to work, or are used to formulate some kind of outline on which I can base a project.
Works always turn out better when they come naturally and are not created in a forced manner.
My first solo exhibition just ended where I mainly showed paintings which I prepared beforehand.
After doing something like that for a longer period I need some kind of distance from painting, that's why I focus on drawing right now and try to finish the printmaking projects I started this semester.
I am part of a big group-exhibition in March, but it will take some time to announce more about it.
Also, I started working with ceramics in 2020, the material feels very right for me to work with. I plan to take some classes and learn more about it.
Adrian Hazi, born in 1998, lives and works in Vienna.
Since 2020, student at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
Printmaking class Jan Svenungsson
Credits for photos Albtraum, Bildraum exhibition views, Artist portrait
All other photos are taken by the artist.
#adrianhazi #contemporarypainting #artisttowatch #featuredartist #emergingartist
For more:
Did you see the breathtaking large artworks from Adrian Hazi at the Parallel Vienna 2021 Art Fair at the Semmelweis Klinik Vienna? Read the full Artist feature here in the Munchies Art Club.
We say a big thank you to the budding talent and wish him great success on his path to recognition.
