Eröffnung Arnulf Rainer & Hermann Nitsch

Arnulf Rainer (1929–2025) and Hermann Nitsch (1938–2022) are among Austria’s most significant artists after 1945. Although they pursued different artistic paths, they are united by a radical expansion of the concept of art: The focus is not only on the work and the image, but also on process, the body, and experience.

Arnulf Rainer fundamentally revolutionized painting with his overpaintings and gained international recognition. 

Hermann Nitsch, co-founder of Viennese Actionism, developed one of the most significant total works of art of the postwar era with the Orgies Mysteries Theatre.

The exhibition explores themes and motifs thatthese two exceptional artists addressed in different ways. These include, for example, the cross as a metaphor for the artistic creative process, the relationship between proportion and color in painting, and photography as a means of artistic expression.

A key point of reference is Prinzendorf Castle in Lower Austria, where Hermann Nitsch worked for many years. Arnulf Rainer worked there on his monumental painting Self-Burial or The Suffering of Christ, The Joy of Christ?

The exhibition presents Rainer and Nitsch not as successive chapters in Austrian art history, but as two simultaneously vibrant artistic positions. For the first time ever, these two artists are being presented in a joint exhibition.

Curators: Nikolaus Kratzer, Helmut Zambo

Exhibition dates: October 24, 2026–October 3, 2027