Around 1967, shortly after he graduated from art school, Dennis Oppenheim made his first ‘Earthworks’. Like fellow land artists such as Robert Morris, Michael Heizer and Robert Smithson, Oppenheim commented on the private inner world in which art is usually presented (galleries, museums, etc.). These artists sought to demystify the artwork and restore its link with the outside world by exhibiting natural materials in the classic places where art is presented or by creating artworks in natural landscapes. Oppenheim also went on to make body art, which he saw as a logical step since the ‘wounds’ he ‘inflicted’ on the landscape were like the scars left on his body by the performances. The artist also created temporary and permanent installations, sculptures and public projects.
