Hermann Nitsch, 1938 - 2022

Born in 1938 in Vienna, Hermann Nitsch is one of the founders and leading exponents of Viennese Actionism.

In his paintings, as well as his performances that last for days, Nitsch addresses the issues of violence and suffering within an existential context. In these performances, he renders visible the violence in human beings and manifests his discourse against all forms of power, taboo and boundaries. Inhibitions and repressions come back to the surface in these performances, in which participants experience intense emotions, the almost tangible tension of their instincts, and everything pertaining to what is “other”. In these acts of togetherness, what is “inner” becomes “outer” and is exposed in the formal and intellectual sense. These collectivities turn into mystical experiences of being that are reminiscent of feasts. Sacrificed animals scattered in the space and raw flesh and blood provide participants an experience at the limits of comprehension. The bodiless and timeless collective consciousness created by Nitsch engenders a state of catharsis by deforming in every sense the existing boundary. In this chaotic process, in which tension reaches its climax, primitive instincts grow ever more intense and evolve, bringing participants closer to their selves buried in the depths of reality. For Nitsch, creativity has become these very performances themselves. The state of having a self, which is his main concern in his artistic productions, can be seen in his paintings as well as his performances.

Through the performative experience he projects on the canvas, Nitsch’s contains references to his past performances, while also creating an explosion of perception through the superimpositions of different layers of paint. He projects the state of ecstasy and high tension of his rituals on his canvases, in which he demolishes the concepts of time and space.