Hermann Nitsch Untitled
Hermann Nitsch
1938 - 2022
Untitled
signed and dated 2005 (lower right)
acrylic, wood and mixed media on paper
109 by 197.5 cm.
42⅞ by 77 3/4 in.
Executed in 2005.
Catalogue Note:
Powerful large-scale piece from a key figure of Viennese ActionismHighly expressive and physical mixed-media work, combining painting with performanceStriking use of black pigment adds visual drama and underscores Nitsch’s emotionally charged late work
Created in 2005, this large-scale mixed media work exemplifies the visceral and ritualistic nature of Hermann Nitsch’s practice, closely aligned with the principles of his Orgien-Mysterien-Theater (Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries). The artist is a central figure of Viennese Actionism, sought to evoke emotional catharsis through the synthesis of painting, performance, and spiritual symbolism.
Applied with pronounced physicality, the work’s gestural fields of colour on a dual support consisting of paper mounted on wood recall both the immediacy of Action Painting and the structured intensity of ritual procedure. The concentrated use of black pigment plays a central visual and compositional role. As Nitsch once remarked, “I like black a lot. There are many painters who say that ‘black is the king of color.” (Hermann Nitsch citied in: Paul Laster, “I Think Art Is a Way of Intensity. Interview with Hermann Nitsch,” Interview, Artpulse Magazine, 2015, online.)
Rather than serving purely as contrast, the black functions as a zone of formal compression. It simultaneously draws in and obstructs the viewer’s gaze, appearing both absorptive and impenetrable. This tension between attraction and resistance establishes a visual intensity that defines the work’s surface.
The work does not depict a traditional subject. Instead, it documents a process, presenting the residue of an event shaped by performative gesture and material encounter. In this sense, the painting functions as a site of accumulation rather than representation and offers a direct record of Nitsch’s ongoing engagement with painting as action.
Provenance:
Galleria Arte per Tutti, Venice
Private Collection
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
Hermann Nitsch
1938 - 2022
Untitled
signed and dated 2005 (lower right)
acrylic, wood and mixed media on paper
109 by 197.5 cm.
42⅞ by 77 3/4 in.
Executed in 2005.
Catalogue Note:
Powerful large-scale piece from a key figure of Viennese ActionismHighly expressive and physical mixed-media work, combining painting with performanceStriking use of black pigment adds visual drama and underscores Nitsch’s emotionally charged late work
Created in 2005, this large-scale mixed media work exemplifies the visceral and ritualistic nature of Hermann Nitsch’s practice, closely aligned with the principles of his Orgien-Mysterien-Theater (Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries). The artist is a central figure of Viennese Actionism, sought to evoke emotional catharsis through the synthesis of painting, performance, and spiritual symbolism.
Applied with pronounced physicality, the work’s gestural fields of colour on a dual support consisting of paper mounted on wood recall both the immediacy of Action Painting and the structured intensity of ritual procedure. The concentrated use of black pigment plays a central visual and compositional role. As Nitsch once remarked, “I like black a lot. There are many painters who say that ‘black is the king of color.” (Hermann Nitsch citied in: Paul Laster, “I Think Art Is a Way of Intensity. Interview with Hermann Nitsch,” Interview, Artpulse Magazine, 2015, online.)
Rather than serving purely as contrast, the black functions as a zone of formal compression. It simultaneously draws in and obstructs the viewer’s gaze, appearing both absorptive and impenetrable. This tension between attraction and resistance establishes a visual intensity that defines the work’s surface.
The work does not depict a traditional subject. Instead, it documents a process, presenting the residue of an event shaped by performative gesture and material encounter. In this sense, the painting functions as a site of accumulation rather than representation and offers a direct record of Nitsch’s ongoing engagement with painting as action.
Provenance:
Galleria Arte per Tutti, Venice
Private Collection
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
