Hängende Lichtkugel, 1972
Otto Piene (1928-2014) was born in Laasphe, Westphalia, Germany and lived and worked in Düsseldorf, Cambridge and Groton, Massachusetts. Piene was one of the founding members of the ZERO group (1957-1966) along with Heinz Mack, and later Günther Uecker. From 1948 to 1953, he attended the Blocherer Art School and studied painting at the Academy of Art in Munich and the Staatliche Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf. Piene graduated with a philosophy degree from the University of Cologne in 1957. After serving as a Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania in 1964, Piene became the first international fellow of the MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) from 1968 to 1971, during which he coined the term “Sky Art” for large outdoor sky/light projects, such as Olympic Rainbow for the 1972 Munich Olympics. In the same year, Piene became Professor of Environmental Art at MIT, and from 1974 to 1994, he was director of the CAVS. Solo exhibitions include retrospectives at the Kunstmuseum im Ehrenhof, Düsseldorf (1996); the Prague City Gallery (2002); and the Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund (2008-09). The artist had a show of Light Ballet and Fire Paintings at Sperone Westwater in 2010, followed by a retrospective of painting, sculpture and installation in 2016. In 2020-21, the gallery held an exhibition of Piene’s Rasterbilder and ceramic works. Recent museum solo shows include the MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge (2011); ZKM 1 Museum Für Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe (2013); Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf (2013); Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (2014); Langen Foundation, Neuss (2014); LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur, Münster (2015); Fitchburg Art Museum (2019); the Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck (2019-20); Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge (2022); and the National Museum, Wroclaw, Poland (2023). Most recently, Museum Tinguely presented the monographic exhibition “Otto Piene: Paths to Paradise” (2024). In 2014, the Guggenheim Museum in New York opened a large-scale historical survey of the work of the ZERO group, showcasing a diverse selection of Piene’s work. In 2015, a touring exhibition of ZERO artworks was presented at the Martin-Gropius Bau, Berlin and traveled to the Stedlijk Museum, Amsterdam. Another major exhibition of the ZERO group was held at the S.U. Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Istanbul (2015-16). Piene’s work is in many important public collections including Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; Art Institute of Chicago; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Harvard Art Museums; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Neue Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN.
Otto Piene
Random Seefahrt 2, 2013
glaze on clay
14 1/2 x 18 1/8 x 2 1/8 inches (36,8 x 46 x 5,4 cm)
SW 20140
InquireOtto Piene
Ich kann's nicht lassen, 2009
platinum, glaze on clay
10 5/8 x 10 1/2 x 3/4 inches (27 x 26,7 x 1,9 cm)
SW 17389
InquireOtto Piene
Mönchengladbach light wall, 2013
cardboard, wood, motor, light
142 x 197 inches (360 x 500 cm)
SW 15221
InquireOtto Piene
Untitled, 1957/1967
oil on board
28 3/4 x 40 1/16 inches (73 x 101,7 cm)
33 x 44 1/4 x 2 inches (83,8 x 112,4 x 5,1 cm) frame
SW 15197
InquireOtto Piene
Manufactured Sun, 1966
fire gouache on paper
20 1/2 x 22 1/4 inches (52 x 56,5 cm)
26 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches (67,3 x 72,3 cm) frame
SW 13364
InquireOtto Piene
Ghost, 1975
fire gouache on board 28 x 44 inches (71 x 112 cm)
32 x 48 inches (81,3 x 122 cm) frame
SW 12013
InquireOtto Piene
Es ist Grün, 1972
mixed media on board
39 x 27 1/4 inches ( 99 x 69,2 cm)
SW 13358
InquireOtto Piene
Fruit, 1974
fire gouache on paper
40 3/4 x 32 inches (103,5 x 81,3 cm)
44 x 36 inches (111,8 x 91,4 cm) frame
SW 12022
InquireOtto Piene
Cross Currents, 1957/1989
oil and fire on board
28 3/4 x 40 1/16 inches (73 x 101,7 cm) 33 x 44 1/4 x 2 inches (83,8 x 112,4 x 5,1 cm) frame
SW 08366
InquireOtto Piene
Hängende Lichtkugel, 1972
mixed media
89 3/8 x 27 1/2 inches (227 x 70 cm)
SW 10056
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Collection
Otto Piene
Random Seefahrt 2, 2013
glaze on clay
14 1/2 x 18 1/8 x 2 1/8 inches (36,8 x 46 x 5,4 cm)
SW 20140
Otto Piene
Ich kann's nicht lassen, 2009
platinum, glaze on clay
10 5/8 x 10 1/2 x 3/4 inches (27 x 26,7 x 1,9 cm)
SW 17389
Otto Piene
Mönchengladbach light wall, 2013
cardboard, wood, motor, light
142 x 197 inches (360 x 500 cm)
SW 15221
Otto Piene
Untitled, 1957/1967
oil on board
28 3/4 x 40 1/16 inches (73 x 101,7 cm)
33 x 44 1/4 x 2 inches (83,8 x 112,4 x 5,1 cm) frame
SW 15197
Otto Piene
Manufactured Sun, 1966
fire gouache on paper
20 1/2 x 22 1/4 inches (52 x 56,5 cm)
26 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches (67,3 x 72,3 cm) frame
SW 13364
Otto Piene
Ghost, 1975
fire gouache on board 28 x 44 inches (71 x 112 cm)
32 x 48 inches (81,3 x 122 cm) frame
SW 12013
Otto Piene
Es ist Grün, 1972
mixed media on board
39 x 27 1/4 inches ( 99 x 69,2 cm)
SW 13358
Otto Piene
Fruit, 1974
fire gouache on paper
40 3/4 x 32 inches (103,5 x 81,3 cm)
44 x 36 inches (111,8 x 91,4 cm) frame
SW 12022
Otto Piene
Cross Currents, 1957/1989
oil and fire on board
28 3/4 x 40 1/16 inches (73 x 101,7 cm) 33 x 44 1/4 x 2 inches (83,8 x 112,4 x 5,1 cm) frame
SW 08366
Otto Piene
Hängende Lichtkugel, 1972
mixed media
89 3/8 x 27 1/2 inches (227 x 70 cm)
SW 10056
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Collection