gugging: ten days only: Gallery One
Ricco/Maresca Gallery is proud to present gugging: ten days only, a group exhibition featuring 30 works by seven artists created from the 1970s to today at Gugging, Austria’s pioneering cultural hub dedicated to art brut. This exhibition highlights the rich legacy and groundbreaking creativity nurtured at Gugging, an institution that has redefined the boundaries of artistic expression for decades.
Originally a psychiatric hospital, Gugging’s transformation into a beacon for art brut began in 1954 when Dr. Leo Navratil introduced a “draw-a-person” test as a diagnostic tool. He quickly noticed the exceptional quality of drawings by certain patients, sparking his fascination with the relationship between creativity and mental illness. Navratil's book Schizophrenia and Art (1965) captured the attention of avant-garde luminaries like Arnulf Rainer and Peter Pongratz, while Jean Dubuffet, who coined the term art brut to describe raw, unmediated art from outside mainstream culture, heralded works by Gugging’s artists as definitive examples of the movement.
The first public exhibition of Gugging artists in 1970 was a turning point. Determined to provide his artistically inclined patients with better living and working conditions, Navratil established the Centre for Art and Psychotherapy in a nearby building. This initiative, initially met with resistance, flourished, offering the artists a nurturing environment where creativity could thrive. Among the first residents were Johann Korec (1937–1980), whose introspective watercolor and ink pieces combined text and image into a unique visual language, and Johann Garber (b. 1947), celebrated for his paradisiacal ink drawings teeming with fantastical figures and lush detail.
Under the leadership of Dr. Johann Feilacher, who became director in 1986, the institution was renamed the House of Artists, reflecting a shift in philosophy: the “artist-patients” were now recognized simply as artists. Feilacher’s innovative approach, which emphasized direct sales and high-profile exhibitions, elevated Gugging to an international platform, cementing its reputation as a vital contributor to the art brut movement.
Today, Gugging encompasses a museum, gallery, and atelier, welcoming both residents and visiting artists like Leopold Strobl (b. 1960), whose meditative art practice has garnered widespread acclaim. Among the current generation of Gugging artists are Helmut Hladisch (b. 1961), known for his intricate drawings that blend abstraction with representation; Günther Schützenhöfer (b. 1965), whose strikingly original graphite works explore depth and form; and Manuel Griebler (b. 1991), whose kaleidoscopic compositions teem with intricate, densely layered patterns and a vivid interplay of colors. Griebler’s works feature a surreal world populated by whimsical figures that invites viewers into an intricate universe that balances chaos and order.
Click here to visit the online viewing room for this show and learn more about the works exhibited.
