Hermann Nitsch Untitled 2019

The smearing of paint is an essential element in Hermann Nitsch’s actionist work. Intended is the achievement of total immersion, whereby life can be experienced with all the senses and thus, also the subconscious is given a voice.
In this work, mainly dark red paint was applied in mixed technique, both using painting utensils and smearing with bare hands. The term “serial unique” refers to the fact that the work, originally painted on one sheet of vellum paper, was cut into ten pieces. These serial uniques were created in 2019 for the Spanish gallery Hundertmark. The present piece is numbered “2/10.”
Nitsch worked consistently until his passing on the realization of his singular idea of the “Orgien-Mysterien-Theater” where music and art, euphoria and ecstasy allow the actors to immerge themselves in elementary states of life.