Ritual and Improvisation: Late Works by Hermann Nitsch Hermann Nitsch
新闻稿

Peres Projects is pleased to present the gallery’s second solo exhibition of Hermann Nitsch in Seoul, celebrating the groundbreaking legacy of one of the most influential artists of the last 50 years. This exhibition highlights Nitsch’s later works, focusing on his colorful, abstract paintings that encapsulate the essence of his radical artistic vision.

 

Hermann Nitsch (1938–2022) was an Austrian artist and a leading figure in the Vienna Actionism movement, which emerged in the 1960s. Vienna Actionism was a transgressive art movement that sought to challenge bourgeois norms and traditional artistic conventions through performance, body art, and ritualistic actions. Influenced by psychoanalysis, existential philosophy, and the post-war cultural climate of Austria, the movement aimed to create direct and visceral experiences rather than static objects.

 
Known for his intense and ritualistic performances, Nitsch sought to break social taboos through a fusion of painting, music, theater, and bodily expression. His Orgien Mysterien Theater (Orgies Mysteries Theater) involved elaborate, cathartic performances drawing from religious and mythological themes. While his early work was confrontational and visceral, the later years of his career saw a shift toward vibrant, expressive paintings and works on paper. These late pieces, marked by bold colors and gestural abstraction, retained the energy of his earlier practice but focused on a more painterly, lyrical exploration of form and emotion.
 
 

This exhibition presents a selection of Nitsch’s late paintings, where layers of pigment are poured, smeared, and splattered onto the canvas in an orchestration of movement and spontaneity. The physicality of these works continues his exploration of painting as an extension of the body, while their rich chromatic intensity evokes spiritual and emotional transcendence. Red, yellow, and deep blues dominate the compositions, reflecting his lifelong engagement with symbolism and the expressive power of color. The paintings exemplify Nitsch’s method of dynamic, gestural application of pigment, evoking both a visceral and theatrical presence. Alongside the paintings, a series of drawings created with oil pastel on paper further explores his experimentation with mark-making and immediacy, reinforcing his connection to movement, ritual, and expression.

 

By revisiting these works, the exhibition provides a new perspective on Nitsch’s artistic evolution, highlighting the dynamic interplay between control and chaos, ritual and improvisation, while also seeking to emphasize Nitsch’s profound influence on a younger generation of artists, whom Peres Projects is known for championing. His paintings, much like his performances, remain an immersive experience, inviting viewers to confront their own perceptions of materiality, movement, and catharsis.

 

With this presentation, Peres Projects reaffirms its commitment to revisiting pioneering artists who have shaped contemporary art history. This second solo exhibition of Hermann Nitsch in Seoul serves as both a tribute to his unparalleled legacy and an invitation to engage with his work through a fresh and nuanced lens. His works have been featured in Musée de L’Orangerie, Paris (2023); Pace Gallery, New York (2023); Peres Projects, Berlin (2022); MUMOK, Vienna (2018, 2016, 2015, 2004); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2012); Leopold Museum, Vienna (2011); Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (1999); The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1998); Documenta 5, Kassel (1972); Documenta 7, Kassel (1982) . His works are part of the permanent collections at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Metropolitan Museum, New York; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Tate, London; Musée Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; MUMOK, Vienna; Albertina Museum, Vienna; Austrian Gallery Belvedere, Vienna; Leopold Museum, Vienna, and more.

 

Special thanks to the Nitsch Foundation, Austria, and Rita Nitsch.

作品
Installation Shots
回到展览