Hermann Nitsch's 20th Painting Action Debuts in Venice During Biennale

During the 59th Venice Biennale, Zuecca Project, a non-profit space founded by Alessandro Possati on Giudecca Island, presents the first complete Italian showing of Hermann Nitsch's 20th Painting Action. Originally staged at the Vienna Secession in 1987, this work is the only Nitsch 'action' whose pieces belong to a single collection—that of Helmut Essl. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with Galerie Kandlhofer and supported by the Hermann Nitsch Foundation. It runs from April 19 to July 22, 2022, at Oficine 800 on Giudecca. Nitsch (1938), a key figure of Viennese Actionism, merged painting, theater, literature, and myth into ritualistic performances. His 'Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries,' conceived in 1957, drew on Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Greek tragedy, and Wagner's total artwork, using bodies, flesh, and blood to explore sex, death, eroticism, and violence. The 20th Painting Action features a large-format painting (5 x 20 meters) on the front wall, flanked by smaller sketches, and a 10 x 10 meter painting on the floor. Nitsch stated he aimed to evoke intense excitement through red liquid splashes and drips.