avant-garde artist hermann nitsch, known for his works of flesh, blood and viscera, dies at 84

Hermann Nitsch: 1938 – 2022

Hermann Nitsch, a pioneer artist of Vienna’s avant-garde scene in the 1960s and 1970s, passed away yesterday, April 18, 2022. Born in Vienna on August 29, 1938, Nitsch is regarded as one of the most versatile contemporary artists, whose practice ranged from performance, to painting, composing (symphonies, organ concerts), and set design. The artist is known for staging radical and controversial performances as part of the Viennese Actionism movement, of which he was a crucial founder. His performances and paintings often incorporated blood, flesh and viscera, among other materials. His first painting actions took place in the 1950s, when he conceived his famed Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries, an provocative, intensive sensory experience of various substances and fluids.

56th painting action | Nitsch museum, Mistelbach | 2009 ©Daniel Feyerl

In 1971, Nitsch acquired the Prinzendorf Castle in Lower Austria from the Catholic Church, which allowed him to also realize his musical ideas for his theatre in large-scale action performances. Noise orchestras, scream choirs and electronically amplified instruments all played a part. Since then, the artist lived and worked at Prinzendorf Castle on the Zaya River, Lower Austria, as well as in Asolo, Italy. His works are exhibited in the two Nitsch Museums in Mistelbach and Naples as well as in the Nitsch Foundation in Vienna and in prestigious international museums and galleries. Over the course of his career, Nitsch has exhibited work at the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Moderna Museet, Stockholm; the Leopold Museum, Vienna; the Albertina Museum, Vienna; and other institutions worldwide. His performances have also been staged internationally at venues in Vienna, New York, London, Havana, Leipzig, Hobart, and elsewhere.

Nitsch Foundation | 2009 ©Roland Rudolph

1st action | 1962 ©Hermann Nitsch

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apr 19, 2022