Christa Hauer (1925 - 2013) always had her finger on the pulse of the times. Her commitment as a gallery owner and patron of the arts was particularly radiant. On the occasion of her 100th birthday, the Landesgalerie Niederösterreich is dedicating an exhibition to her multifaceted work.
Galerie im Griechenbeisl: a place for the avant-garde
The Austrian artist and sculptor Christa Hauer spent most of the 1950s in America. In 1959, she returned to Vienna full of energy and opened a gallery with her husband, the painter Johann Fruhmann. Her father Leopold Hauer made the vacant rooms above the historic Griechenbeisl in Vienna's first district available to the young couple.
Hauer quickly developed the gallery into a central forum for contemporary art alongside the two already established galleries Würthle and nächst St. Stephan. She thus asserted herself as a gallery owner in an art world dominated by men. In particular, artists working conceptually and constructively were offered a stage.
Established artists, such as Christian Ludwig Attersee, Maria Lassnig and Martha Jungwirth, celebrated their premieres at the Galerie im Griechenbeisl. In addition, art created beyond the Iron Curtain was also presented in order to promote exchange between East and West. Within ten years, Hauer presented 122 exhibitions.
Christa Hauer, Self-portrait, 1945 © Christa Hauer / Bildrecht, Vienna 2024
Lengenfeld Castle: a cultural hotspot
After closing the gallery in the Griechenbeisl in 1971, Hauer and her husband bought Lengenfeld Castle near Krems to live and work there. With exhibitions, theater performances, concerts, festivals and symposia, it became a lively meeting place for people interested in art and culture. In addition, it was also a center for innovative local conservation, environmental protection and civic participation. Hauer's initiatives in Lengenfeld contributed significantly to the cultural awakening in Lower Austria.
Pioneer of feminist art
From the 1970s, Hauer was involved in the feminist art scene, including as a founding member and first chairwoman of the International Association of Women Artists (IntAkt). Her commitment to the visibility and appreciation of female artists was visionary and of great importance. Other members of the group included Renate Bertlmann, Ingrid Oppitz and Linda Christanell.
Life and legacy
Christa Hauer belonged to an art-loving family. Her father Leopold Hauer was a painter. Her grandfather Franz Hauer was the landlord of the Griechenbeisl, above which she opened her gallery. He was already promoting and collecting artists such as Albin Egger-Lienz, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka at the turn of the century.
Hauer and her husband built up a considerable art collection with their own works and works by artists they exhibited and supported. Hauer gave a large part of the collection to the Provincial Collections of Lower Austria, which expanded it through further purchases to a total of around 1,600 works from the Hauer-Fruhmann family estate.
Drawing on this fund, the exhibition in the Landesgalerie shows works by famous artists such as Martha Jungwirth, Richard Kriesche, Jürgen Messensee, Margot Pilz and Karl Prantl. The success story of the Galerie im Griechenbeisl and Schloss Lengenfeld is illustrated with works of art, archive material, catalogs, posters, exhibition reviews and photos. A small selection of abstract paintings by Christa Hauer rounds off the show, which provides an insight into the eventful life of an artist, gallery owner and activist.
April 12, 2025 to March 1, 2026
