Zero
also: Group Zero · Zero movement
Zero was founded in Dusseldorf in 1957-58 by Heinz Mack and Otto Piene (Günther Uecker joined in 1961) as a deliberate zero hour after the subjective gestures of Art Informel and Abstract Expressionism. Through its magazine, editions, and an international exhibition network reaching from Europe to Japan and the United States, Zero proposed art of light, movement, and monochrome - white fields that let illumination do the painting, nail reliefs that catch and scatter light, and smoke-and-fire paintings made with actual flame. The group dissolved in 1966, but its core moves - light as material, texture as event, color stripped away to let phenomena through - fed directly into kinetic art, the Light and Space movement, and contemporary experiential installation.
Defining characteristics
- Monochrome fields, especially white, as a ground for light
- Light, reflection, and movement treated as artistic materials
- Textured surfaces: nails, smoke, fire, relief
- Rejection of subjective gesture and painterly emotion
- Seriality, precision, and clean geometry
- Exhibition networks and editions as part of the practice
Key figures
- Heinz Mack (b. 1931) — Co-founder; light reliefs and reflective structures
- Otto Piene (1928-2014) — Co-founder; smoke-and-fire paintings and light ballets
- Günther Uecker (b. 1930) — Joined 1961; iconic nail reliefs
Example works
- Rauchbilder (Smoke Paintings) — Otto Piene (from 1959)
- Nail reliefs — Günther Uecker (from c. 1957)
- Light reliefs (Lichtreflektoren) — Heinz Mack (1950s-1960s)
Sources
- Zero (art) - Wikipedia encyclopedia