The Austrian artist Martha Jungwirth was relatively unknown before 2018, when she was awarded the prestigious Oskar Kokoschka Prize. Then came a solo show at the Albertina Museum. This summer, the Guggenheim Bilbao is mounting a solo show of her gestural yet controlled abstract paintings—powerful personal explorations into her memories, travels, and politics. Jungwirth started her practice young. After graduating from Vienna’s Academy of Applied Arts, in 1963, she co-founded the collective “Wirklichkeiten” (Realities) in response to the Art Informel movement. The group’s work was exhibited at the landmark 1968 Vienna Secession exhibition. Jungwirth’s practice has evolved into a dramatic use of color and incisive lines. She is now 84. —Elena Clavarino