The 20th painting action of the “Orgien Mysterien Theater“ by Hermann Nitsch (H.N.) took place between February 18 and 21, 1987 at the Vienna Secession. On these four days the exhibition rooms of the Secession were turned into a painting studio, walls and floors covered with canvas, and the Gallery opened to the public. Spectators were able to watch the performance painter creating his works, and to view the entire installation once it was finished.
This 20th happening by the artist was the most extensive of its kind so far, both in terms of duration and number and format of the paintings. It may be regarded as an exemplary instance of Nitsch’s concept of performance painting. The paint-in at the Secession is an integral part of the the actionist painter's “Gesamtkunstwerk” idea , the “Orgien Mysterien Theater“.
Apart from numerous canvases measuring 200 x 300 cm, a large-size floor cloth become the object of the artistic exercise. The shirts worn by the painter, simply tailored white smocks which bear unmistakable traces of the work process, were applied to pieces of canvas to form pictures in their own right. The front wall of the main room of the Secession was entirely spread with canvas and was painted by H.N. and his assistants to resemble a fresco. The works that came out of this happening should be seen as elements of an overall installation, which can be installed and exhibited anywhere with appropriate adjustments.
H.N. is among the contemporary Austrian artists that are known and recognised world-wide and have been able to place their works in the major collections and museums of the world. At the same time, as one of the main protagonists of Viennese Actionism, he is also one of the very few artists whose work has crucially contributed to the development of art internationally over the last 40 years.
Even if H.N.’s pictures are always the result of a painting happening, they are seldom presented at the place of the action. The painting performance at the Secession was a rare exception in that the exhibition was accommodated in the same room where the works had been created only days before in a public action. Many of the works were sold singly after the exhibition, so that we have only photographs and video takes to document the event. It is thanks to the patience and tenacity of a collector that all the works of the 20th painting action are united in one single collection so that this unique performance can be shown in its impressive totality even in other places.
ALL WORKS FRESHLY RESTORED
On the occasion of the presentation of the 20th paint-in at Linz as part of the European Cultural Month, the frames of all 50 wedge-mounted paintings were expertly restored by a Viennese art and sculpture workshop under the guidance of the artist himself. This had become necessary because in his performances the artist deliberately chooses not to use high-quality frames. Consequently, all works of the 20th painting action are now in an excellent state, not only from an artistic but also from a technical point of view.
