On the grounds of a former psychiatric hospital in Austria now lies a colourful house of outsider art, known as the Gugging House of Artists....
Its history dates back to the early 50's when a young psychiatrist named Leo Navratil began to conduct drawing exercises with patients at the asylum as a means of diagnosing their mental illnesses when they weren't able to express how they felt verbally. In these diagnostic works, Navratil found art.
After thirty years of research, Navratil invited a group of talented patients to move from the main hospital to a small building within the grounds. With that, the group of Gugging Artists was born, living and working at the House of Artists and changing its appearance with expressive paintings over decades.
Today, the house continues to accommodate 14 artists with varying mental illnesses, allowing them to create ‘raw art’ - untamed by convention and educational tradition. Their work has gained international recognition over the years, being displayed in museums and galleries across the world and bought by numerous art dealers and collectors, including David Bowie.
