Between 1960 and 1965, Hermann Nitsch developed a radical artistic language of remarkable consistency–thus laying the foundations for his entire body of work at a young age.

The exhibition brings together over 100 works from this period, ranging from early “Schüttbilder” and “Rinnbilder” to relic montages and works from before 1960 that illustrate the transition from trained graphic designer to independent artist.

Sanitary pads, band-aids, and handkerchiefs drenched in blood, when combined with liturgical objects and vestments, become central carriers of meaning. They allude to wounds, healing, and transformation, linking physical traces to symbolic levels.

Nitsch’s work emerged within the social climate of postwar Austria–a period strongly marked by repression, silence, and the desire for order. Through the expressive pouring and dripping of paint, and by making blood, wounds, and sacrifice visible, his works insist on the physical reality of life and death. The painting becomes a space where existential conditions are not concealed but are meant to be experienced directly through the senses.

Curator: Julia Moebus-Puck