Moeller Fine Art | ZERO in Vibration – Vibration in ZERO

Dedicated to the memory of Otto Piene (1928–2014)

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FOREWORD Achim Moeller

I have been involved with the art of the ZERO group for

I am delighted to organize “ZERO in Vibration—Vibration

the past forty-five years, almost without knowing it. In

in ZERO” and to dedicate the exhibition to the memory

1969 I met Piero Dorazio, an Italian practitioner of ZERO

of Otto Piene (1928–2014). It is a collaboration with the

whom co-founder Heinz Mack described as “a great

ZERO Foundation, Düsseldorf, and the Neuberger Museum

figure within our luminary cultural landscape, in which

of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York.

he spreads out his fields of color with such grace and order.” Like Mack, I was struck by the vibrant luminosity

In addition to the work of Mack, Piene, and Uecker, the ex-

of Dorazio’s work, which for me transcended any partic-

hibition includes that of Bernard Aubertin, Piero Dorazio,

ular school or period. Piero became a close friend, and it

Hermann Goepfert, Oskar Holweck, Walter Leblanc, Almir

was an honor to represent him until his death in 2005.

Mavignier, Christian Megert, François Morellet, and Jesús Rafael Soto. As we continue to expand our involvement

Midway through this journey toward ZERO, in the 1990s

with ZERO, the movement is also finding new audiences

I bought a number of Dorazio’s works that came from the

and admirers.

collection of Howard Wise, the pioneering dealer of ZERO and kinetic art in America. The serendipity of this meet-

The exhibition “ZERO: Countdown to Tomorrow, 1950s-

ing struck me only twenty years later, when the family of

60s,” organized by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,

Howard Wise asked me to organize an exhibition of works

New York, to which we lent a major work by Otto Piene,

from his estate in 2012. Over the course of a year, our

speaks to the relevance of ZERO in today’s world.

galleries in New York and Berlin pulsated not only with

I encourage visitors to our exhibition and readers of this

the work of Dorazio, but also with that of founding ZERO

catalogue to seek resonance with ZERO, as it has been

artists Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, and Günther Uecker.

my privilege to do.

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ZERO IN VIBRATION–VIBRATION IN ZERO Serge Lemoine

ESSAYS ZERO—the ZERO group— founded in 1957 in Düsseldorf,

ented vision. They mostly looked for a more neutral art,

Germany, originally comprised two artists, Heinz Mack

devoid of pathos and formulas, to connect with the ele-

(b. 1931) and Otto Piene (1928-2014). They were joined,

ments of nature, and to reach a broad public. They also

in 1961, by Günther Uecker (b. 1930). The movement as-

created an original form of exhibition, which allowed

sociated with this initial nucleus of artists, which devel-

them to present their ideas and show their works, the

oped in Europe at the end of the 1950s and during the

so-called Abendausstellungen, or evening exhibitions.

following decade, is recognized today as one of the major

Each exhibition was held on only one night.

events on the international art scene in the second half of the twentieth century. The art of ZERO is currently

The first of these took place on April 11, 1957, and showed,

being celebrated in an exhibition organized by the Sol-

in addition to the work of Mack and Piene, that of several

omon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Further exhi-

other artists. Six such exhibitions were held in 1957, some

bitions will be held in 2015 at the Martin-Gropius-Bau,

with performance art and the first of Piene’s light pieces.

Berlin, and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

The seventh exhibition, held in 1958, with the color red as its theme, presented works by no fewer than forty-five

The Guggenheim exhibition, a response to widespread,

artists, including—for the first time—those of Günther

if belated, recognition, is somewhat unexpected, since

Uecker. Also in 1958 Mack and Piene published the first

the beginnings of ZERO were confined not to a country

of three issues of their eponymous magazine, Zero.2 The

or region, but to a single German city, Düsseldorf, one

eighth and last exhibition, entitled “Vibration,” was ac-

that had barely begun to recover from the devastation

companied by an issue devoted to the same subject.

of World War II. 1 The third issue of Zero was published in 1961, on the ocIt all started with the two young artists, Otto Piene and

casion of the exhibition of the ZERO group—joined now

Heinz Mack, both former students at the Kunstakademie

by Uecker—held at the recently opened Galerie Schmela

in Düsseldorf, who established ZERO with a view to pro-

in Düsseldorf, which gave the artists its support from

testing the dominance of Art Informel (also known as Ta-

that time on. The theme was that of Dynamo, and the

chism) and Abstract Expressionism, on the one hand, and

exhibition included works of diverse inspiration and ex-

on the other, to proposing their own, more future-ori-

pression: in addition to Mack, Piene, and Uecker, other 13

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ZERO IN VIBRATION–VIBRATION IN ZERO Serge Lemoine

ZERO—the ZERO group—founded in 1957 in Düsseldorf,

oriented vision. They mostly looked for a more neutral

Germany, originally comprised two artists, Heinz Mack

art, devoid of pathos and formulas, to connect with the

(b. 1931) and Otto Piene (1928-2014). They were joined,

elements of nature, and to reach a broad public. They

in 1961, by Günther Uecker (b. 1930). The movement

also created an original form of exhibition, which allowed

associated with this initial nucleus of artists, which devel-

them to present their ideas and show their works, the so-

oped in Europe at the end of the 1950s and during the

called Abendausstellungen, or evening exhibitions. Each

following decade, is recognized today as one of the major

exhibition was held on only one night.

events on the international art scene in the second half of the twentieth century. The art of ZERO is currently being

The first of these took place on April 11, 1957, and

celebrated in an exhibition organized by the Solomon R.

showed, in addition to the work of Mack and Piene, that

Guggenheim Museum, New York. Further exhibitions will

of several other artists. Six such exhibitions were held in

be held in 2015 at the Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, and the

1957, some with performance art and the first of Piene’s

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

light pieces. The seventh exhibition, held in 1958, with the color red as its theme, presented works by no fewer

The Guggenheim exhibition, a response to widespread,

than forty-five artists, including —for the first time—

if belated, recognition, is somewhat unexpected, since

those of Günther Uecker. Also in 1958 Mack and Piene

the beginnings of ZERO were confined not to a country

published the first of three issues of their eponymous

or region, but to a single German city, Düsseldorf, one

magazine, Zero. 2 The eighth and last exhibition, entitled

that had barely begun to recover from the devastation

“Vibration,” was accompanied by an issue devoted to

of World War II. 1

the same subject.

It all started with the two young artists, Otto Piene and

The third issue of Zero was published in 1961, on the oc-

Heinz Mack, both former students at the Kunstakade-

casion of the exhibition of the ZERO group—joined now

mie in Düsseldorf, who established ZERO with a view to

by Uecker—held at the recently opened Galerie Schmela

protesting the dominance of Art Informel (also known as

in Düsseldorf, which gave the artists its support from

Tachism) and Abstract Expressionism, on the one hand,

that time on. The theme was that of Dynamo, and the

and on the other, to proposing their own, more future-

exhibition included works of diverse inspiration and 15

expression: in addition to Mack, Piene, and Uecker, other

ZERO, declared Otto Piene in 1962, “is not a style, it’s

artists represented included Arman, Bernard Aubertin,

not a group, and I don’t want it to become one. It’s a

Pol Bury, Enrico Castellani, Oskar Holweck, Yves Klein,

way of seeing.”

Francesco Lo Savio, Almir Mavignier, Henk Peeters, Kurt Salentin, Jan Schoonhoven, Jesús Rafael Soto, Daniel

Presentations of individual works evolved into exhibitions

Spoerri, and Jean Tinguely.

of collective works that Mack, Piene, and Uecker showed, either individually or as a group, not only in Europe but in

The evening exhibitions and other events involving or

the United States, most prominently at the Howard Wise

connected with the ZERO group ultimately tallied as

Gallery in New York in 1964. The main thrust of their col-

many as 133 artists, as Piene himself pointed out. They

lective production was abstraction, with no reference to

included Bury, Haacke, and Soto, who went on to become

figurative representation, but resonating with light and

kinetic artists; Nouveaux Réalistes Arman, Spoerri, and

movement and their association with space and time—

Tinguely; the unclassifiable Yves Klein; and abstract art-

initially as part of the works and then as subjects in their

ists practicing Systems Art—Castellani, Mavignier, and

own right. The works are devoid of composition in the

Morellet. They came from all over Europe, as well as from

traditional sense. Instead, they emphasize structure, uni-

Japan: Yayoi Kusama and Kazuo Shiraga.

formity, and repetition. They are white or they take on the color of the materials of which they are made—e.g.,

The ZERO group disbanded in 1966, after having par-

glass or metal. Neither painted nor sculpted, they are

ticipated in many important international exhibitions,

rather constructed, assembled, or manufactured.

among them “Vision in Motion—Motion in Vision” at the Hessenhuis, Antwerp (1959), “Bewogen Beweging”

In their collective works, which are sometimes large in-

at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1961), “Nouvelles

stallations with related elements distributed in space

Tendances” at the Museum of Contemporary Art,

with movement and light, the temporal sequences are

Zagreb (1961), “Nul” at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

meant almost as a theatrical presentation: many have the

(1962), “Nouvelles Tendances” at the Musée des Arts

word “ballet” in the title and refer explicitly to the art

Décoratifs, Paris (1963), and Documenta 3 in Kassel

of staging—to dance and to theater and its dramaturgy,

(1963), where ZERO presented Hommage à Fontana (the

its lights and shadows. Works are identified not so much

restored work is now installed in the Museum Kunstpa-

by their material supports as with the visual and sensory

last, Düsseldorf ).

effects that they produce on the viewer.

Subsequent exhibitions were no less eloquent: “The Re-

Vibration was one of these effects. As noted earlier, it

sponsive Eye” at the Museum of Modern Art, New York,

was the theme of the eighth evening exhibition in 1958,

in 1965, followed that same year by “Licht und Bewegung”

in which Holweck, Klein, Mack, Mavignier, Piene, and Zill-

at the Kunsthalle Bern and the 4th Biennale de Paris.

man participated. It was also the subject of the second

The last participation of ZERO in a major international

issue of the magazine ZERO. It is this theme so central to

exhibition was in 1966 at the Stedelijk van Abbemuseum,

the group that is the subject of the exhibiiton at Moeller

Eindhoven, in “Kunstlicht Kunst.”

Fine Art. Twelve artists are represented. In addition to

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Mack, Piene, and Uecker, they include Bernard Aubertin,

many artists at the time. Indeed, it was one of the prin-

Piero Dorazio, Hermann Goepfert, Oskar Holweck, Walter

cipal characteristics of the period. It could be seen in

Leblanc, Almir Mavignier, Christian Megert, François

Germany in the works of such artists as Ludwig Wilding,

Morellet, and Jesús Rafael Soto.

Klaus Staudt, Hartmut Böhm, and, in another mode, Gotthard Graubner. In Italy, in the work of Getulio

In this exhibition, the works of Heinz Mack display the

Alviani, Toni Costa, Alberto Biasi—not forgetting the

artist’s interest in structure, reflection, and the distribu-

benevolent presence of Mario Belloco in Milan and the

tion of light (Veil of Light, 1964), while those of Otto Piene

influence of his writing and other work. In France, visual

focus on such evanescent phenomena as smoke (Untitled,

perception was a feature of the works of Julio Le Parc,

1965) and on pattern (Rolling Stars, 2006). Günther Uecker’s

Antonio Asis, Hugo Demarco, Horacio Garcia-Rossi,

works are in part based on density, saturation, and material,

Carlos Cruz-Diez, Yvaral, the above-mentioned Morellet

as in his Nail Structure (1963). Aubertin also uses nails as

and Soto, and one of the pioneers and outstanding mas-

a material, but his appear on a field saturated with the

ters in this vein, Victor Vasarely. In Belgium it could be

color red, creating vibrational effects that are different

seen in the work of Leblanc, Pol Bury, and Jef Verheyen.

from those of Uecker (Carré–zérotique, 1987). Mavignier

The work of Richard Anuskiewicz in the United States

uses paint squeezed directly from the tube to place dots

presented a further example.

on his canvas, shaping and sizing them precisely to create gradations that generate optical vibration (White Through

Vibration as expression, but also the primacy of a regular

Green, Blue, Violet, 1965). Holweck and Leblanc animate

structure, the use of repetition, the definition of modules,

surfaces by their treatment of the materials. Goepfert

the absence of all considerations other than phenome-

(Polaris, 1967) and Megert (Lightbox, 1965) use metal

nology—these are criteria found also in the works of the

plates and mirrors to catch light, distorting the images

Dutch counterpart of ZERO, the NUL group (nul is Dutch

they reflect. Morellet and Soto create moiré patterns,

for zero).3 The aesthetic could be seen in Milan at the

the former by superimposing shifting screens (2 trames

Galleria Azimut and in the magazine Azimut, published by

de chevrons superposées, 1961), the latter by placing

Enrico Castellani and Piero Manzoni. And it defined the

hanging rods in front of a network of horizontal parallel

characteristics according to which Mavignier selected

lines (Vibration noir et vert, 1966). Dorazio stands out as

artists for “Nouvelles Tendances,” the exhibition held in

an exception in having remained faithful to the tradition

Zagreb in 1961. Combined with light and movement, and

of painting, filling his canvas with fine crossed lines that

expanded by a further parameter, that of instability,

create a vibratory surface. Using various means and

these criteria were common to most of the kinetic artists

materials, which sometimes are sufficient to define their

and groups that appeared during this period in Europe:

intention, all these artists display an exploration and ex-

G.R.A.V. in France,4 Gruppo N and Gruppo T in Italy,5 and

pression of the sensory effect of vibration—the tension

in England Bridget Riley in the 1960s. 6

between the work and the eye of the beholder.

The appearance of a movement and its subsequent deThe idea of relying on visual perception and of using it

velopment can be traced to many influences and at times

as the sole criterion of artistic expression was shared by

unexpected immediate forerunners. What is important, 17

in addition to the individuals involved and their relationships, is the element of chance. In this respect, Manzoni, who traveled between Italy, Germany, and France, as did Mavignier, were important figures. For ZERO, two artists

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had particular significance in this respect although they belonged to different generations and had different backgrounds: the French painter Yves Klein, born in 1928, who created a veritable Paris–Düsseldorf axis, and the Italian painter Lucio Fontana, who was born in 1899 in Argentina. Thanks to their works and ideas, their personalities, and the trajectories of their careers, they opened the way to change and created a milieu that encouraged the developement of new areas of interest and hommage and a new sensibility. In short, and to quote from one of the group’s manifestos: “Zero is a beginning.”

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Until recently, such an exhibition would have been most unlikely in an American museum. The art market played a decisive role in reversing this situation following the sale at auction of works from the collection of the Stuyvesant Foundation, Amsterdam, and the LenzSchönberg collection in 2010, when prices for the work of ZERO soared and appreciation for the artists saw a sudden upswing.

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The three issues of Zero are reprinted in facsimile: Zero 4 3 2 1, edited by Dirk Pörschmann and Mattijs Visser (Düsseldorf: Richard & Fey, 2012).

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The Dutch group NUL, founded circa 1958, included Jan Schoonhoven, Henk Peeters, Jan Henderikse, and Armando, all of whom participated in the exhibitions of ZERO.

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G.R.A.V. (Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel), founded in Paris circa 1960, included Horacio Garcia-Rossi, Julio Le Parc, François Morellet, Francisco Sobrino, Joël Stein, and Yvaral.

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Gruppo N, founded in Parma in 1959, included Alberto Biasi, Ennio Chiggio, Toni Costa, Edoardo Landi, Manfredo Massironi. Gruppo T, founded in Milan in 1959, included Giovanni Anceschi, Davide Boriani, Gabriele De Vecchi, Gianni Colombo, and Grazia Varisco.

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See the exhibition catalogue Dynamo: Un siècle de lumière et de mouvement dans l’art, 1913-2013, (Paris: Grand Palais, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2013).

ZERO Mattijs Visser

The Romans did not know it at all, the Babylonians could

Günther Uecker, and Otto Piene as its undefatigable

not calculate with it, and for the Indians zero was equal to

ambassadors. That their legacies are alive and well, rep-

emptiness. The Arabs used zero to engage in trade. It was

resented in biennials from Moscow to Venice to Osaka,

two Düsseldorf artists who recognized its true potential:

shows that ZERO has not receded into history.

zero is nothing by itself, but can lead others to greatness.

Just as zero makes other numbers larger, ZERO is nothing Between 1958 and 1961 Heinz Mack and Otto Piene pub-

without its friends and supporters. Research has been

lished in small editions three issues of ZERO magazine as a

generously supported by the North Rhine-Westphalia’s

dynamic vehicle, or better, transmitter, for their innovative

capital city, Düsseldorf, and by the Rhineland Regional

ideas. In a short time ZERO became an international group

Authority. The Federal Cultural Foundation has made it

with many exhibitions in the countries devastated by World

possible for the exhibition to travel to Amsterdam and

War II. Artists from Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, Swit-

Berlin. Many ZERO friends and galleries are making it

zerland, North and South America, and Japan soon joined.

possible for us to expand our archive and to build an important ZERO collection.

A half-century later issues of ZERO have long since become collectors’ items and the group’s exhibitions a

We are grateful to Achim Moeller, who for this catalogue

part of art history. But even the present generation still

commissioned the eminent ZERO expert Serge Lemoine

finds the movement filled with inspiring ideas. Its cur-

to write an essay, and to the Neuburger Museum of Art,

rency remains unbroken, as the many ZERO exhibitions

Purchase College, with its collection assembled by ZERO

of recent years and the retrospective organized by the

artist George Rickey. We extend our special thanks of

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, have

course to Heinz Mack, Günther Uecker, and, posthu-

shown. With them the largest international artists’

mously, to Otto Piene, who not only presented important

movement of the postwar period has been rediscovered.

archival materials and works to the ZERO Foundation but also supported us, patiently and creatively, with ideas.

Sixty years after the end of the war the Guggenheim’s

Indeed, they were and are the visionaries we needed,

exhibition and its catalogue provide the public with a de-

who even back then knew that there was more than zero

tailed picture of the ZERO movement, with Heinz Mack,

on this globe called Earth.

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RESTING RESTLESSNESS Heinz Mack

ZERO 321 Painting engages the eye – this confrontation occurs dy-

The restlessness of a line: it wants to be a plane. The

namically – our eyes enjoy resting in restlessness.

restlessness of a plane: it wants to be space.

The restlessness of rest, however, is scarcely perceptible,

This restlessness conforms to our painterly sensibility.

a contrast to the rhythm of the heart; it is movement

Lines, surfaces, and space must continually merge with

that destroys itself; it does not give us the kind of vision

one another, “cancel out”: one another (in the dialectical

that is alert, clear, and a measure of the immeasurable.

sense). If this integration is visible, a work vibrates, and

Our painterly sensibility is a sensibility of sight. The mo-

our eyes meet with resting restlessness.

tionless and the finite limit our vision and tire our eyes, and in the end deny them.

Much gets decided at the borderlines of the various components; no less critical, however, is the reaction of

Among all the possible conditions derived from the concept

color, whose quantity and light intensity are as conse-

of movement, only one is aesthetic: resting restlessness – it

quential as the degree of distribution of units of form and

is the expression of continuous movement, which we call

their overall relation to the format of the work.

“vibration,” and which our eyes experience aesthetically. Its harmony stirs our souls, as the life and breath of the work.

Large parcels of form are to be dispensed with – they cannot become the force of continuous motion. Motion

Just as a strong wind gives form to a thousand clouds, so

disappears once its momentum disappears.

creative movement can give spatial organization to color and formal components; in movement color finds restless-

This way I paint only a profusion of little forms. What

ness, its form. To me, movement is the true form of a work.

about the larger, monumental form? It reappears in the “overall form” of the work, which is also a momentum of

Every dynamic component of form (no matter how mi-

the small form; it is a principle of harmony, the complete

nuscule and how limited its energy) has within itself the

integration of color and motion, whose continuous ef-

restlessness to exceed itself, to remain open to its sur-

fects overcome the “sadness of finality.”

roundings even though it faces powers of equal strength that offer a continuous boundary.

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1 2 3 OR E Z

RESTING RESTLESSNESS Heinz Mack

Painting engages the eye – this confrontation occurs dy-

The restlessness of a line: it wants to be a plane. The

namically – our eyes enjoy resting in restlessness.

restlessness of a plane: it wants to be space.

The restlessness of rest, however, is scarcely perceptible,

This restlessness conforms to our painterly sensibility.

a contrast to the rhythm of the heart; it is movement that

Lines, surfaces, and space must continually merge with

destroys itself; it does not give us the kind of vision that

one another, “cancel out”: one another (in the dialectical

is alert, clear, and a measure of the immeasurable. Our

sense). If this integration is visible, a work vibrates, and

painterly sensibility is a sensibility of sight. The motion-

our eyes meet with resting restlessness.

less and the finite limit our vision and tire our eyes, and in the end deny them.

Much gets decided at the borderlines of the various components; no less critical, however, is the reaction of

Among all the possible conditions derived from the concept

color, whose quantity and light intensity are as conse-

of movement, only one is aesthetic: resting restlessness – it

quential as the degree of distribution of units of form and

is the expression of continuous movement, which we call

their overall relation to the format of the work.

“vibration,” and which our eyes experience aesthetically. Its harmony stirs our souls, as the life and breath of the work.

Large parcels of form are to be dispensed with—they cannot become the force of continuous motion. Motion

Just as a strong wind gives form to a thousand clouds, so

disappears once its momentum disappears.

creative movement can give spatial organization to color and formal components; in movement color finds restless-

This way I paint only a profusion of little forms. What

ness, its form. To me, movement is the true form of a work.

about the larger, monumental form? It reappears in the “overall form” of the work, which is also a momentum

Every dynamic component of form (no matter how mi-

of the small form; it is a principle of harmony, the com-

nuscule and how limited its energy) has within itself

plete integration of color and motion, whose continuous

the restlessness to exceed itself, to remain open to its

effects overcome the “sadness of finality.”

surroundings even though it faces powers of equal strength that offer a continuous boundary.

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An unexpected possibility of making aesthetic motion perceivable arose when I accidentally stepped on a thin piece of metal foil that was lying on a sisal mat. As I picked up the metal foil the light was set to vibrating.

Since the rug was made by machine, the imprint was, of course, repetitive and merely decorative. The movement created by the reflected light was insignificant and dull.

My metal reliefs, which I would rather call light reliefs, and which are formed by hand, only require light instead of color in order to come alive. Highly polished, a modest relief is sufficient to stir the repose of light and cause it to vibrate. The potential beauty of such a work is a pure expression of the beauty of light.

Reprinted from Otto Piene and Heinz Mack, ZERO 321 (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 1973), pp. 40–41

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ON THE PURIT Y OF LIGHT Otto Piene

Light is the primary condition for all visibility. Light is the

realization of color as a manifestation of the spirit. Van

sphere of color. Light is the life-substance of both men

Gogh mastered its force and thereby “ignited” his work,

and of painting. Every color derives its quality from its

while Seurat made the clarity of light the medium of the

allotment of light. Light creates the power and magic of a

restrained motion in his painting.

painting, its richness, eloquence, sensuality, and beauty.

Like the revolutions of the Egyptian, Greek, medieval, and Although painting, like a living organism, relies on light

modern periods, the revolution of contemporary art seems

for its existence, painters have seldom given light the

forced to renounce the wealth of choices. Freedom has

attention it deserves. We find an inkling of its realization

been corrupted by fear of the multiplicity of relationships

in Etruscan and Pompeian frescoes, in gold grounds and

of the sensual and, hence, of the experience of light.

stained-glass windows. Leonardo is the real discoverer.

Consequently, Delaunay and many works by Severini and

He clothed the raw Renaissance urge to question with a

Balla have no direct successors. The world of art is so

restrained yet markedly articulate play of light and non-

fascinated by the brittleness of signs and planes that it is

light; in this Masaccio preceded him. Rembrandt breathed

felt that the proper concern of painting is the flat plane

shimmers of reality into the established symbolism of

and its inhabitant, form.

medieval gold grounds. Yet at the same time that he used lights and darks to affirm reality, he used radiance to

Pollock’s action painting and the obvious mysticism of

transcend it. Rembrandt’s contemporaries, the Sensualists,

Woos’s work have their origin in the revolution against

confused painting for centuries; they restricted the light

the Revolution. The Informel movement inspired by them

of color to the limited role of rendering the illumination

has given painting back its elan vital. The price of this

of objects. The course of painting seems to have led

victory was extraordinarily high: it was the renunciation

away from this aberration. It led Goya, who explored the

of the concept of purity of color, a concept that, although

light of color for its own sake, and on to Turner and to the

it was advocated more than fifty years ago, was never

Impressionists, who at least managed to produce, in their

completely realized. Color could not become pure

finest and loftiest period, paintings that transformed

because one indispensible condition had been over-

the ordinary materiality of light, i.e., the rendition of

looked: purity of light.

illumination, into light that permitted a more genuine 29

The light of color flows between the work and the spec-

that with a melancholy matter-of-factness takes human

tator and fills the space between them. This space cannot

misery for granted. The believers seek to derive an aes-

be quantified because the spatial properties of the

thetic stimulus from their pessimism.

work are irrational – the work “as space” is irrational.

The legitimate fear among modern artists of the occur-

The common idea that a painter should express his own

rence of spatial illusion at it had appeared in art between

times is naïve insofar as it reduces the painter to a kind of

1500 and 1900 caused them to reduce pictorial space

journalist. The artist does respond to his environment,

to near-nothingness, because given the intentions of

but his response is creative in that it refers more to the

classically-tempered modern art, the continuity of space

future than to the present. Today, as always, every art

in paintings could not be maintained otherwise. The static

has its moral side. The platonic ideal, that the beautiful is

character of forms available to modern art paralyzed

both good and true, has not been forgotten. A painting

both light and color.

that achieves its potential simultaneously fosters a conviction. The art that is created most of all as art and that

In order to achieve its dynamic, Informel painting does not

renounces the directness of actual report will have

hesitate to readopt or merely place matter in front of the

the greatest meaning; that is, man will find his aesthetic

old, perspectival space that appears to open up behind the

sensibility to be the doorway to his spiritual self.

picture plane. Consequently, no dynamic continuum can be formed; an Informel work is only frozen movement, a

Drabness of color is an expression of man’s own drabness,

report on movement that has occurred in the past. Just as

of drabness of consciousness in the broadest sense, and it

fatal is the kind of subtle shading of color in various greys

suggests this drabness to the spectator, too. To deny this

which leads to an old-style valeur painting. The seamless-

would mean for art to give up its exemplary capacity

ness of the resulting pictorial blendings is an imitation of

purity of light, which creates pure color, which in turn is

nature. The aficionados of richly associative painting are

an expression of the purity of light, takes under certain

delighted by this creation that represents nature in a

formal conditions, becomes a forceful pulsebeat, total vi-

seemingly established, final stage; after all, a static inter-

bration. The vitality of color is in its persuasive power. The

pretation of nature is a pessimistic interpretation, and, to

energy of light emanating from the field of the painting is

the fans, to be pessimistic is to be contemporary.

converted mysteriously into the spectator’s vital energy.

Although no one today seriously doubts that even

The means have been found to give painting so much sen-

the most restrained paintings are an expression of human

suality (while still retaining its discipline) by virtue of light

thought and feeling, it appears as if language and

that it will depart from the rational explicability of signs

paintings have gone their separate ways. Actually, their

and symbols and enter the realm of painterly beauty, in

relationship is more intimate than ever before, because

which the course of spirit is guided by the senses. Painting

they have to rely upon one another. For instance,

will achieve a beaming intensity, it will radiate to man. The

language serves to interpret painting. If one takes this

purity of light will enable painting to arouse pure feeling.

relationship seriously, paintings created out of an initial dependence on Tachism are an expression of a pessimism 30

Reprinted from Otto Piene and Heinz Mack, ZERO 321 (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 1973), pp. 46–47

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33

E U G O L ATA C

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1

BERNARD AUBERTIN (b. 1934) Cercle de feu tournant 2013 Metal and match sticks Diameter: 235⁄8 in. (60 cm) Signed and dated verso: Bernard Aubertin 2013

2

BERNARD AUBERTIN (b. 1934) Carré-zérotique 1987 Acrylic and nails on wood 27½ × 27½ in. (70 × 70 cm)

3

BERNARD AUBERTIN (b. 1934) Tableau clous—Paris 2012 Acrylic and nails on wood 27½ × 207⁄8 (70 × 53 cm) Signed and inscribed verso: Paris/2012/70 × 53 cm Bernard Aubertin

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4

PIERO DORAZIO (1927–2005) Rosso di sotto 1961 Oil on canvas 317⁄8 × 393⁄8 in. (81 × 100 cm) Signed, titled, and dated verso: Piero Dorazio Rosso Di Sotto 1961

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39

5

PIERO DORAZIO (1927–2005) Grey 1959 Watercolor on paper 23 × 19¼ in.

(58.4 × 48.9 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio 59

6

PIERO DORAZIO (1927–2005) Untitled 1960 Watercolor and crayon on paper 20½ × 28¼ in. (52 × 72 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio ’60

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41

42

7

PIERO DORAZIO (1927–2005) Untitled 1962 Oil on canvas 7¾ × 5¾ in. (19.7 × 14.6 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio 62

8

PIERO DORAZIO (1927–2005) Pink 1962 Watercolor on paper 27½ × 19¼ in.

(69.8 × 48.9 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio ’62

43

44

9

HERMANN GOEPFERT (1926–1982) Polaris (Kinetischer Reflektor) 1967 Wooden box, nylon thread, plastic foil, and aluminum blades 48 × 64½ × 75⁄8 in.

(122 × 164 × 19.5 cm) Signed, inscribed, dated, and titled verso: Goepfert/Antw. 67/Polaris

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10

HERMANN GOEPFERT (1926–1982) Untitled (Kinetischer Reflektor) 1967 Wooden box, nylon thread, and aluminum blades 19 × 23 × 25⁄8 in.

(48.5 × 58.5 × 6.7cm) Signed and dated verso: Goepfert 67.

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47

48

11

OSKAR HOLWECK (1924–2007) Reissrelief 1960–61 Torn paper 27½ × 27½ in. (70 × 70 cm) Collection Sarien Visser, Berlin

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50

12

WALTER LEBLANC (1932–1986) Torsions 1965 Oxidized steel 707⁄8 × 6 × 1⁄8 in.

(180 × 15 × 0.4 cm) The ZERO Foundation, Düsseldorf

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13

WALTER LEBLANC (1932–1986) 130 CX 378 (Twisted Strings) 197 7 Cotton thread and white latex on canvas 511⁄8 × 511⁄8 in. (130 × 130 cm) Signed, titled, and dated verso: Walter Leblanc 197 7

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53

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14

HEINZ MACK (b. 1931) Veil of Light 1964 Plexiglass, chrome, hexcell, and plastic 69 × 51 × 24 in.

(175. 3 × 129.5 × 61 cm)

15

HEINZ MACK (b. 1931) Untitled 1964 Stainless steel sheets 161⁄8 × 317⁄8 in.

(31.1 × 80.8 cm) Inscribed and signed verso: done for George Rickey Mack 64 Collection Neuberger Museum of Art. Purchase College, State University of New York.

Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art

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57

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HEINZ MACK (b. 1931) Untitled 1960 Screen print on paper 30¾ × 41¾ in. (78 × 106 cm) Edition of 20 The ZERO Foundation, Düsseldorf Signed and dated: mack 60 Numbered lower right

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59

60

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ALMIR MAVIGNIER (b. 1925) White Through Green, Blue, Violet (Weiß durch Grün, Blau, Violett hindurch) 1965 Oil on canvas 19¼ × 161⁄8 in. (48.9 × 41 cm) Signed and dated verso: Mavignier ’65 Collection Neuberger Museum of Art. Purchase College, State University of New York.

Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art

18

ALMIR MAVIGNIER (b. 1925) Color Change on the Border (Farbwechsel an der Grenze) 1967 Oil on canvas 153⁄8 × 125⁄8 in.

(39.1 × 32.1 cm) Signed and inscribed verso: Mavignier/u/m Collection Neuberger Museum of Art. Purchase College, State University of New York.

Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art

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62

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CHRISTIAN MEGERT (b. 1936) Lightbox 1964 Wood, mirror, and fluorescent tube 19¾ × 15¾ × 4¾ in.

(50 × 40 × 12 cm)

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64

20 JESÚS RAFAEL SOTO (1923-2005) Vibration noir et verte 1966 Nylon line, paint on metal bars, and paint on wood 23 × 43 × 9 in.

(58.4 × 109.2 × 22.9 cm) Signed and dated verso: Soto/1966 Inscribed verso: Haut New York Collection Neuberger Museum of Art. Purchase College, State University of New York.

Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art

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21

OTTO PIENE (1928–2014) Untitled 1965 Gouache and smoke on serigraph on paper 25¼ × 191⁄8 in.

(64.1 × 49.8 cm) Inscribed, signed, and dated lower right: For George and Edie Rickey/ XI 27 65, Otto/Piene 65/& Nan Inscribed lower left: épreuve d’artiste Collection Neuberger Museum of Art. Purchase College, State University of New York.

Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art

22

OTTO PIENE (1928–2014) Rolling Stars (Rasterkeramik) 2006 Ceramic 33½ × 33¼ × 1½ in.

(85 × 84.5 × 4 cm) Signed lower right: P.

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OTTO PIENE (1928–2014) Untitled (Gelber Auszug, Rasterleinwand) 1957–58 Oil on canvas 12 × 271⁄8 in. (30.4 × 69 cm) More sky collection, Germany

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24

FRANÇOIS MORELLET (b. 1926) 2 trames de chevrons superposées 1961 Oil on wood 31½ × 31½ in. (80 × 80 cm) Courtesy of François Morellet

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25

GÜNTHER UECKER (b. 1930) Nail Structure 1963 Paint, nails, and canvas on wood 215⁄8 × 215⁄8 × 3½ in.

(54.9 × 54.9 × 8.9 cm) Collection Neuberger Museum of Art. Purchase College, State University of New York.

Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art

26 GÜNTHER UECKER (b. 1930) Column of Nails 1964 Paint on nails, paint on wooden box, and unfinished wooden beam 50 × 14 × 12 in.

(127 × 35.6 × 30.5 cm) Collection Neuberger Museum of Art. Purchase College, State University of New York.

Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art

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STSITRA

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Bernard Aubertin (b. 1934) met Yves Klein in 1957, in-

Oskar Holweck (1924–2007) joined the ZERO group soon

spiring him to create works in red monochrome. Three

after its inception in 1957. Best known for his torn reliefs,

years later he made his first nail paintings, vibrant, allover

made of ripped, folded, and crumpled white paper, he

surfaces that bristle with red-painted bolts, screws, and

was originally influenced by the Concrete Art movement.

nails. Aubertin joined the ZERO group in 1961, at which

A highly regarded teacher of generations of students at

time he began to use fire in his work, his own expression

the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste in Saar, Germany,

of art’s new beginning. Today he lives and works in Reut-

the born Saarlander was invited to take part in Docu-

lingen, Germany, and continues to stage performance art.

menta in 1959 and again in 1972, but declined both times.

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005), born in Rome, was trained

Walter Leblanc (1932–1986) organized the exhibition

in classical art before turning to architecture in 1945. In

“Anti-Peinture” in his hometown of Antwerp in 1962.

1950 he met the Futurist artist Giacomo Balla, whose

The same year, he joined the international group Nou-

speed lines influenced the tight, pulsating grids of color

velle Tendance and began to exhibit with ZERO. Leblanc

that would characterize his paintings and drawings of the

introduced torsion in his work in 1959, initially on can-

1960s. The pure luminosity of Dorazio’s work allied itself

vas and later in sculpture, employing new media such as

naturally with that of the ZERO group. In later years the

vinyl, cotton thread, and latex. Stretching threads over

dense, transparent webs loosened, giving way to broad

the canvas and then painting them, he created ray-like

bands of bright colors.

structures that give the illusion of movement.

Hermann Goepfert (1926–1982) worked mainly in Frank-

Heinz Mack (b. 1931) studied at the Kunstakademie Düs-

furt am Main. In the 1960s he took part in the seminal

seldorf from 1950 to 1953; by the middle of the decade,

NUL exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and

he was making his first dynamic sculptures. In 1957 he

Documenta 3 in Kassel, Germany, where his aluminum

founded the ZERO group with Otto Piene. They were

reflectors were displayed. These architectonic, often

soon joined by Günther Uecker, and together they or-

mobile, works, which celebrate the sleek, reflective

ganized eight one-night exhibitions at a studio in Glad-

properties of metal, were also enlarged as “object

bacher Strasse, Düsseldorf, and published three editions

architecture.” Although he died early, in 1982, Goepfert is

of their eponymous magazine, ZERO. By the end of the

considered a central figure of the ZERO group.

1950s Mack was creating steles and cubes of light, and in 1959, his first motorized light sculptures, composed of aluminum discs rotating behind sheets of ridged glass.

Mack continues to make monumental sculptures, stage sets, and large paintings.

78

Almir Mavignier (b. 1925) was born in Rio de Janeiro. Af-

Otto Piene (1928–2014) studied at the Hochschule

ter traveling extensively in Europe he settled in Ulm, Ger-

für Bildende Künste in Munich and at the Kunstakad-

many, where he became a student of Max Bill and worked

emie Düsseldorf. He was also a student of philosophy

as a graphic designer. Mavignier created his first dot

at the Universität zu Köln. In 1957 he began working

paintings in 1954, and joined the ZERO group in 1958. The

on monochromatic, vibrational grid pictures and, with

following decade saw his work presented at the Venice

Heinz Mack, founded the ZERO group. Also during this

Biennale and at Documenta 3 and 4 (1964 and 1968) and

time Piene created his celebrated light ballets and smoke

his appointment as professor of painting at the Hoch-

drawings, and in 1962 he participated, with Mack and

schule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg, where he lives

Günther Uecker, in the Salon de Lumière installation at

and works today.

the NUL exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

Piene spent many years in the United States, first at the

Christian Megert (b. 1936), a key figure of the ZERO

University of Pennsylvania and then at MIT, where he

movement in Switzerland, works in Bern and Düsseldorf.

served as director of the Center for Advanced Visual

In 1962, for the NUL exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum,

Studies from 1974 to 1990.

Amsterdam, he made an installation based on light and reflection. Mirrors are Megert’s signature, and with them he

Jesús Rafael Soto (1923–2005) studied at the Escuela de

builds “infinity boxes,” creating the illusion of infinite space.

Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas in Caracas, Venezuela.

Megert participated in Documenta 4 in 1968 and was a pro-

In 1950 he moved to Paris, where he came to know Jean

fessor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf until 2002.

Tinguely, Victor Vasarely, and other artists associated with the Salon des Réalistes Nouvelles. Inspired by Cub-

François Morellet (b. 1926) explores the expansion of

ism and by the artists Kazimir Malevich and Piet Mondri-

structure and light in space. His early work, from the

an, Soto explored non-material elements in his work—vi-

mid-fifties, methodically ordered paintings whose pat-

bration and movement— which led to his kinetic Op Art

terns extend beyond the edge of the canvas, were fol-

of the 1960s, the so-called Penetrables and Vibrations.

lowed by works using light tubes. Between 1961 and 1968 the self-taught Morellet was a member of G.R.A.V.

Günther Uecker (b. 1930) met Heinz Mack, Otto Piene,

(Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel), which was influenced

and Yves Klein in 1957, the year he began making his

by ZERO and led to his close association with the group

Nagelbild Informelle Struktur, a series of horizontal and

in the mid-sixties. Today he lives and works in France,

vertical nail structures. He joined the ZERO group offi-

continuing to create large kinetic light installations.

cially in 1961, the year he began the Abesunkene Strukturen, works composed of nails that break through a canvas surface. During the 1960s Uecker staged happenings, recitals, and presentations of kinetic objects, and edited nine editions of his own Uecker magazine. In 1976 he was given a professorship at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he continued to teach until 1995.

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Moeller Fine Art, founded in 1972, is a leading international

Moeller Art Advisory brings together nearly five decades

gallery specializing in works of art from the nineteenth,

of experience, relationships, and scholarship to help col-

twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. In 1984 the gallery

lectors make informed decisions about individual works of

moved from London to New York, and today occupies

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premises adjacent to the Hotel Plaza Athenée on East 64th Street. The gallery organizes several curated exhibitions each year and participates in art fairs worldwide.

Specialized services include: – Acquisition and sale of paintings, drawings, and sculpture

by Impressionist, Modern, and Contemporary Masters.

Achim Moeller, the gallery’s founder, brings nearly fifty years’ experience in the field and is a recognized autho-

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Masters of the Bauhaus, Dada, and Surrealism. He has

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helped to build private and public collections that are coherent in concept, period, and quality, including the collection of the Hon. John C. Whitehead.

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80

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The Lyonel Feininger Project LLC Achim Moeller is preparing the three-volume catalogue raisonné of paintings by Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956) and oversees the Lyonel Feininger Project, which provides certificates of authenticity, exhibition consultation, and research related to the artist. The Project, housed in New York and with new premises at Friedrichstrasse 17, Berlin, organizes scholarly exhibitions and maintains a 20,000 volume reference library.

The Mark Tobey Project LLC Achim Moeller oversees the Mark Tobey Project, which provides certificates of authenticity, exhibition consultation, and research related to Mark Tobey (1890–1976).

The Project draws on the extensive archives of Paul Cummings, longtime scholar of the artist’s work, which have been actively maintained by Achim Moeller for many years.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Achim Moeller

I am most grateful to Mattijs Visser, director of the ZERO Foundation, Düsseldorf, and Paola Morsiani, director of the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York, without whose support this exhibition would not have been possible. Loans were most kindly offered by Jean Brolly, Dierk Dierking, Volker Diehl, Fondation Walter & Nicole Leblanc, Christian and Franziska Megert, François and Danielle Morellet, the More Sky collection, Hubertus Schoeller, and Sarien Visser.

Serge Lemoine, professor emeritus, Université de ParisSorbonne, contributed the introductory essay to the catalogue, which sheds new light on the vibrations of ZERO. The tireless staff of the Neuberger Museum, Avis Larson, Patricia Magnani, and Tracy Fitzpatrick, provided invaluable assistance in arranging loans and images. At Fondation Walter & Nicole Leblanc, I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Baudouin Michiels, president, and Geraldine Chafik, administrator. At the ZERO Foundation, Katrin Lohe was also most helpful. The full text of the catalogue was edited with care by Emily Radin Walter.

The catalogue was sensitively designed by Philippe Apeloig. Russell Stockman and Jean-Marie Clark provided thoughtful translations from the German and French, respectively. Here at the gallery, I would like to thank Stephanie Moeller, Patrick Monahan, and Sebastian Hoffmann for their constant support.

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This catalogue accompanies the exhibition ZERO in Vibration–Vibration in ZERO October 13, 2014– January 9, 2015 Moeller Fine Art 35 East 64th Street New York, NY 10065 T. (212) 644 2133 F. (212) 644 2134 E. mail@moellerfineart.com www.moellerfineart.com

Edited by Emily Radin Walter Designed by Philippe Apeloig assisted by Léo Grunstein Printed by Meridian Printing, East Greenwich, Rhode Island Photographed by Christian Altengarten 23 Noël Allum 3–8, 11–13, 15–18, 20, 22, 24–26, installation views David La Spina/Esto 25 Guenzel Rademacher 9 Marcus Schneider 19 Lothar Schnepf 10 Michaela Vogel 21 © 2014 Moeller Fine Art New York All rights reserved Private publication