Otto
Muehl
Otto
Muehl
Muehl
Austrian, 1925 — 2013
Revolted, provocative, iconoclastic, the most radical epithets would not be enough to describe the radicality of the artistic approach advocated by Otto Muehl. At war with painting and a certain notion of social order, in 1962 he announced his intention in these terms: “sadism, aggression, perversity, obscenity, [...] are the moral means against conformism, materialism and stupidity”.
To complete his endeavour to destroy social rules through art, the founder of Viennese Actionism in the early 1960s favoured the authenticity of experience over traditional media. Muehl's works quickly distinguished themselves with a strong scatological and sexual dimension, becoming the most subversive of all actionist work. In 1971, he founded the utopist community Friedrichshof, advocating a culture of transition and a total sexual revolution.
Otto Muehl’s work was shown for the first time by the Pinault Collection during the 2009 exhibition "Mapping the Studio" at the Palazzo Grassi.
To complete his endeavour to destroy social rules through art, the founder of Viennese Actionism in the early 1960s favoured the authenticity of experience over traditional media. Muehl's works quickly distinguished themselves with a strong scatological and sexual dimension, becoming the most subversive of all actionist work. In 1971, he founded the utopist community Friedrichshof, advocating a culture of transition and a total sexual revolution.
Otto Muehl’s work was shown for the first time by the Pinault Collection during the 2009 exhibition "Mapping the Studio" at the Palazzo Grassi.
