ZERO
Let Us Explore the Stars
curated by Margriet Schavemaker
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Museumplein 10 - Amsterdam
4/7/2015 - 8/11/2015
Fire, light, movement, space, demonstrations, and performances: the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam presents an historic survey of the innovative, international avant-garde artists’ group, ZERO. In the ’50s and ’60s, the ZERO artists’ group experimented with the most innovative materials and media. In 1962, the Stedelijk Museum staged the first museum presentation of ZERO. A few years later, a more comprehensive survey, Nul 1965, followed, a presentation widely considered as one of the movement’s highlights. Now, precisely fifty years later, the Stedelijk is proud to present an historical survey that sheds light on how the network’s artists – Armando, Heinz Mack, Henk Peeters, Otto Piene, Jan Schoonhoven, Günther Uecker, Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Piero Manzoni, Jean Tinguely, and Yayoi Kusama – redefined the meaning and form of art forever.
Beatrix Ruf, director of the Stedelijk Museum, says, “I’m extremely proud that this experimental network is so closely connected with the history of the Stedelijk Museum and that, through this unique research project, we are able to see and appreciate our remarkable collection of ZERO artworks from a deeper, richer perspective.”
About Zero
After the Second World War, and following the grim years of postwar reconstruction, a group of young artists came together to create a new future for art. Driven by the desire to seek radical new ways to make art, they shared an optimistic, experimental, and pioneering approach. The ZERO artists were passionate about technology, modern materials, the power of nature, and the cosmos. The movement rejected the abstract expressionist art of the day and the traditional idea of the painter who used gestural brushwork to express personal, subjective feelings. The ZERO artists created monochrome paintings in bright colors. The abundance of white monochromes produced by the ZERO group came to be seen as iconic of the artists' network. But ZERO also experimented with ordinary objects like nails, cotton balls, feathers, coins, car tires, and beer crates. Spectacular effects were achieved by "painting" with fire and smoke, shooting arrows into surfaces, slicing into canvas, or using reflective surfaces that played with light. Fitted with little motors, artworks moved, clattered, and even exploded. Works made from tactile materials like cotton and velvet invited visitors to touch them. Audience participation was crucial in the performances and events that the artists organized. City streets or vast landscapes acted as backdrops to these events.
The artists of ZERO were a "new kind" of artist: they wore a suit and tie, were savvy media strategists, and avid promoters of ZERO's art and artistic ideas. Thanks to this "new artist," a rich legacy of documentation that covers performances, exhibitions, and other projects has been preserved. In the exhibition, visitors will discover a wealth of preliminary sketches, projects, photos of artists in action, films of performances, and old TV footage, which together bring ZERO's ideas to life.
Artists: Armando, Bernard Aubertin, Pol Bury, Enrico Castellani, Gianni Colombo, Dadamaino, Lucio Fontana, Hermann Goepfert, Gerhard von Graevenitz, Gotthard Graubner, Hans Haacke, Jan Henderikse, Paul van Hoeydonck, Oskar Holweck, Yves Klein, Yayoi Kusama, Walter Leblanc, Adolf Luther, Heinz Mack, Piero Manzoni, Almir Mavignier, Christian Megert, François Morellet, Saboro Murakami, Henk Peeters, Otto Piene, Uli Pohl, George Rickey, Dieter Roth, Hans Salentin, Jan Schoonhoven, Jesús Raphael Soto, Daniel Spoerri, Jean Tinguely, Gunther Uecker, Jef Verheyen, Nanda Vigo.
Let Us Explore the Stars
curated by Margriet Schavemaker
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Museumplein 10 - Amsterdam
4/7/2015 - 8/11/2015
Fire, light, movement, space, demonstrations, and performances: the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam presents an historic survey of the innovative, international avant-garde artists’ group, ZERO. In the ’50s and ’60s, the ZERO artists’ group experimented with the most innovative materials and media. In 1962, the Stedelijk Museum staged the first museum presentation of ZERO. A few years later, a more comprehensive survey, Nul 1965, followed, a presentation widely considered as one of the movement’s highlights. Now, precisely fifty years later, the Stedelijk is proud to present an historical survey that sheds light on how the network’s artists – Armando, Heinz Mack, Henk Peeters, Otto Piene, Jan Schoonhoven, Günther Uecker, Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Piero Manzoni, Jean Tinguely, and Yayoi Kusama – redefined the meaning and form of art forever.
Beatrix Ruf, director of the Stedelijk Museum, says, “I’m extremely proud that this experimental network is so closely connected with the history of the Stedelijk Museum and that, through this unique research project, we are able to see and appreciate our remarkable collection of ZERO artworks from a deeper, richer perspective.”
About Zero
After the Second World War, and following the grim years of postwar reconstruction, a group of young artists came together to create a new future for art. Driven by the desire to seek radical new ways to make art, they shared an optimistic, experimental, and pioneering approach. The ZERO artists were passionate about technology, modern materials, the power of nature, and the cosmos. The movement rejected the abstract expressionist art of the day and the traditional idea of the painter who used gestural brushwork to express personal, subjective feelings. The ZERO artists created monochrome paintings in bright colors. The abundance of white monochromes produced by the ZERO group came to be seen as iconic of the artists' network. But ZERO also experimented with ordinary objects like nails, cotton balls, feathers, coins, car tires, and beer crates. Spectacular effects were achieved by "painting" with fire and smoke, shooting arrows into surfaces, slicing into canvas, or using reflective surfaces that played with light. Fitted with little motors, artworks moved, clattered, and even exploded. Works made from tactile materials like cotton and velvet invited visitors to touch them. Audience participation was crucial in the performances and events that the artists organized. City streets or vast landscapes acted as backdrops to these events.
The artists of ZERO were a "new kind" of artist: they wore a suit and tie, were savvy media strategists, and avid promoters of ZERO's art and artistic ideas. Thanks to this "new artist," a rich legacy of documentation that covers performances, exhibitions, and other projects has been preserved. In the exhibition, visitors will discover a wealth of preliminary sketches, projects, photos of artists in action, films of performances, and old TV footage, which together bring ZERO's ideas to life.
Artists: Armando, Bernard Aubertin, Pol Bury, Enrico Castellani, Gianni Colombo, Dadamaino, Lucio Fontana, Hermann Goepfert, Gerhard von Graevenitz, Gotthard Graubner, Hans Haacke, Jan Henderikse, Paul van Hoeydonck, Oskar Holweck, Yves Klein, Yayoi Kusama, Walter Leblanc, Adolf Luther, Heinz Mack, Piero Manzoni, Almir Mavignier, Christian Megert, François Morellet, Saboro Murakami, Henk Peeters, Otto Piene, Uli Pohl, George Rickey, Dieter Roth, Hans Salentin, Jan Schoonhoven, Jesús Raphael Soto, Daniel Spoerri, Jean Tinguely, Gunther Uecker, Jef Verheyen, Nanda Vigo.
