Roland Hanak, born in Salzburg in 1962, attended the Akademisches Gymnasium there. After graduating from high school, he moved to Vienna and studied German literature and sociology at the University of Vienna.
During this time, he worked with exhibition projects about Herbert Boeckl, Friedrich Kiesler and the major exhibition The Magic of Medusa – European Mannerisms.
A trip to Australia in 1999 inspired him to explore Aboriginal painting, especially the Dreaming in music, lyrics and art, which led to his own large-scale colourful paintings, a practice he continues to this day. His paintings have been shown in several exhibitions in Vienna (ÖBV Atrium, Soho in Ottakring, Palais Schwarzenberg), Buchberg am Kamp (Neues Schloss), Bernstein im Burgenland (2022), in the Gallery at Martinshof, Villach (2023).
