The Nitsch Foundation together with Rita Nitsch is pleased to present the exhibition “SKIN PAINTEENS” by internationally renowned artist Donna Huanca, her second solo show in Vienna. The presentation includes large-scale works on canvas as well as a sculptural installation, which together create an immersive, interdisciplinary and multi-sensory experience.
Around 20 years ago, Donna Huanca had a formative encounter with Hermann Nitsch during his major retrospective in Houston, Texas. This exhibition, which featured 52 paintings and 18 videos, made a deep impression on Huanca and marked a turning point in her artistic development. The experience led to a special bond based on mutual respect and admiration. Huanca still feels closely connected to Nitsch and his artistic legacy today.
In her works, Donna Huanca combines painting, sculpture and sound to create a deeply moving overall experience that appeals intensely to the physical presence of the viewer. Her works on canvas show subtle fragments of painted skin that are photographed during her performances and then hidden under layers of paint, pigment, sand and clay. The two-dimensional abstractions reveal Huanca’s own physicality, which manifests itself in visible fingerprints and traces of her hands on the surface.
At the center of the exhibition is a mirrored sculpture cut from steel that rests on white sand and reflects the textured works in its surroundings. The amorphous forms of the sculpture are reminiscent of living organisms or rock formations and interact directly with the space and the viewer’s movements.
Donna Huanca’s multidisciplinary works develop a self-referential but constantly evolving language that understands the body and skin as tactile and ephemeral interfaces through which we experience the world. Her works explore space and time through the creation of complex assemblages of textures, forms and materials that emphasize the intimate connection between the natural world and the human experience.
The opening of the exhibition “SKIN PAINTEENS” will take place on Friday, October 11 from 6 pm. The works will then be on display at the Nitsch Foundation until December 20, 2024.