Hermann Nitsch

In his over a 55-year career, Hermann Nitsch has pushed the limits of performance art, staging bloody, ritualistic events across the world. Nitsch is frequently associated with the Viennese Actionists, a group of off-kilter Austrian artists who reinvented art in violent terms. Other noteworthy members included Günter Brus, Otto Muehl, and Rudolf Schwarzkogler. Nitsch’s most well-known work is the Orgien Mysterien Theater (1960s–ongoing), which he has performed over 100 times and which has provoked outrage since its inception. These bacchanalian performances include mock religious sacrifices, crucifixion, blood, entrails and nude participants, and produce paintings reminiscent of the revelry that created them. Nitsch is also a painter, creating large canvases pulse with deep reds, blues, and greys, reminiscent of blood spatters. Although Nitsch’s work may appear shocking to onlookers, it is rooted in art history, drawing inspiration from Matthias Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece (1512–1516) and the hanging meats found in some of Rembrandt’s works. Nitsch exhibited work at the 2013 and 2011 Venice Biennale.