The dual exhibitions of Hermann Nitsch’s work at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art (HVCCA) and New York’s Marc Straus Gallery both feature vestments and splatter-painted canvases — essentially objects from Nitsch’s Prinzendorf Orgien Mysterien Theater, six-day mystery performance rituals he has staged continuously since 1961. These objects, with their inherent animism, allow us to experience a microcosm of Nitsch’s large actions, and function as religious relics.
Two Exhibitions Showcase the Bloody Relics of Hermann Nitsch’s Rituals