The Eisler Prize winner of 2008 is Bertram Hasenauer. A total of 25 artists were nominated last year. In its statement, the jury emphasized Hasenauer’s distinctive approach to figurative painting: “In his photorealistic large-scale portraits, the depicted figures seem both present and absent. Hasenauer develops a depersonalized style within the portrait genre, allowing little interpretation of the individual figure, as personal traits appear to dissolve into a generalized typology. Boldly contoured, the silhouette-like forms of the figures stand out from the undefined depth of the background, leaving the viewer with a strong sense of mystery.”

Bertram Hasenauer was born in 1970 in Saalfelden, and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, the University of the Arts in Berlin, and Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London. As a figurative painter, he is dedicated to the human image, employing a visual language that seems to promise recognition and identification. Seemingly so—yet Hasenauer’s depictions of people are far from conventional portraits. With their surreal, otherworldly presence, they resemble human-like apparitions more than traditional likenesses. Hasenauer has exhibited in all major European capitals, received numerous grants (including the Federal Chancellery’s State Grant for Fine Arts), and was awarded the Anton Faistauer Prize (2005) and the Strabag Art Award (2006). He currently lives and works in Berlin.