ZERO foundation

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“Welt, Wohin? ZERO und die Gegenwart” (“World, where to?”)
15th of May until 14th of September 2025

Till Bödeker, Welt, wohin?, 2025, Contribution for the exhibition Welt, wohin?, LED-Leinwand am Kö-Bogen II, 15. Mai bis 14. September 2025, Künstlerverein Malkasten, in cooperation with the ZERO foundation, Concept: Barbara Könches, © Till Bödeker, ZERO foundation

An exhibition at and in cooperation with the Künstlerverein Malkasten / Malkastenforum.

Past, present and future. The exhibition “Welt, Wohin? ZERO und die Gegenwart” (“World, where to?”) combines characteristic works by the Düsseldorf ZERO artists Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker and their circle with works by young artists who, in the spirit of ZERO, are now exploring new possibilities for art. Works from the 1950s to the early 1980s are juxtaposed with works that have only recently been created.

As these different time periods come together, it becomes clear what radiance ZERO still exerts today. At the same time, the question arises as to how the
(art) world has developed since the 1950s and 1960s – and where it may be heading.

A mirror wall by Christian Megert from the 1960s is the leitmotif of the exhibition. It is historical, but it reflects the present and fragments the space in which the positions of tomorrow can unfold. Günther Uecker’s “Sandmühle” (1970) also deals with time – albeit as a cycle: a machine-driven rod constantly rotates on its own axis and draws ever new and yet always the same circles in the sand. Light and movement, central themes of ZERO, also come together in the large exhibition space in light objects by Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Nanda Vigo.

The objects by the ZERO artists are framed by works by friends, such as Jan Henderikse, Paul Van Hoeydonck and Peter Royen. The artists Hal Busse and Herta Junghanns-Grulich should be emphasized as rediscoveries. Both were represented in the 7th ZERO evening exhibition in 1958.

The contemporary artists in the exhibition have created new works especially for this occasion. Felicitas Rohden refers to a new NASA project, an inflatable heat shield. Angelika J. Trojnarski, who works with the element of fire in her paper collages, focuses on the connection between science and nature. Johannes Raimann and Mira Klug deal with “photography after photography”. Joscha Bender has ChatGPT and an image-generating AI create a version of Michelangelo’s famous “David”, which he then transforms – with all its inaccuracies – into a stone sculpture. Till Bödeker invites us into a laboratory with server cabinets and monitors: a reference to the server rooms in which artificial intelligences are trained.

Artists in the exhibition
Joscha Bender (*1991), Till Bödeker (*1991), Hal Busse (1926-2018), Jan Henderikse (*1937), Herta Junghanns-Grulich (1912-1990), Mira Klug (*1992), Heinz Mack (*1931), Christian Megert (*1936), Otto Piene (1928-2014), Johannes Raimann (*1992), Felicitas Rohden (*1984), Peter Royen (1923-2013), Angelika J. Trojnarski (*1979), Günther Uecker (*1930), Paul Van Hoeydonck (1925-2025), Nanda Vigo (1926-2020)

Curator: Barbara Könches

Christian Megert, Spiegelwand, 1961/2025, Spiegel, Drahtseil, Drahtklemmen, Installationsaufnahme Künstlerverein Malkasten 2025 Leihgabe ZERO foundation, Foto: Achim Kukulies

On show from
15th of May until 14th of September 2025

Opening hours Malkastenforum
Tue from 17-21 h, Thu to Sun 11-17 h

Admission
4 €, for members of the Künstlerverein Malkasten admission is free

A cooperation between the ZERO Foundation and Künstlerverein Malkasten.

Supported by the Kunst- und Kulturstiftung der Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf.

The ABCs of ZERO – also online!

On the website www.zeroabc.de and www.zeroabc.com, all contributions to our research project “Opening the Archive: The ABCs of ZERO” are available digitally in German and English and can be accessed worldwide. Like the publication, the website presents numerous photos and previously unknown archive material.

Take a look and immerse yourself in the diversity of the ZERO movement!

“Opening The Archive: The ABCs of ZERO”
Hatje Cantz Verlag, Berlin
ISBN: 978-3-7757-5610-5

About us

History

ZERO was a new beginning: a conscious break with convention. Taking ZERO as a starting point, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker began challenging traditional art in the late 1950s. In the span of just a decade, what began in Dusseldorf, Germany soon evolved into one of the most significant avant-garde movements of the 20^th century; a movement which – together with groups created at the same time and other fellow artists in Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands – continues to influence art to this day.
In 2008, approximately 50 years later, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker – in cooperation with the Museum Kunstpalast foundation and on the initiative of Mattijs Visser – founded the ZERO foundation as a non-profit foundation under civil law in Dusseldorf.
The artists contributed works of art and archive materials such as photographs, correspondence, invitation cards, drafts, posters and exhibition reviews to the foundation.

Task

As an academic research centre with connections around the world, the ZERO foundation is concerned with the preservation, history, presentation and contextualisation of ZERO art and the ZERO movement.
To date, exhibitions have been carried out in the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art in Kobe, Japan; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, USA; the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands; and the Pohang Museum of Steel Art in Pohang, Republic of Korea, among others.
The ZERO foundation publishes the results of its research in its own publications.
Since 2018, the ZERO foundation has organised presentations, film screenings and exhibitions in the ZERO house in Dusseldorf.
The academic archives are constantly being expanded and can be viewed here.

People

FOUNDING MEMBERS

Heinz Mack
Otto Piene
Günther Uecker

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Stephan Keller (Chairman)
Miriam Koch (Vice Chairwoman)
Friderike Bagel
Ute Eggeling
Alexander Fils
Elizabeth Goldring Piene
Detlef Hunsdiek
Heinz Mack
Cornelia Mohrs
Eva Mörger
Ulf Montanus
Manfred Neuenhaus
Dorothée Schneider
Günther Uecker
Heike van den Valentyn

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Antonia Lehmann-Tolkmitt (Chairwoman)
Claus Gielisch
Felix Krämer (Vice Chairman)
Harry Schmitz
Jürgen Wilhelm

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Barbara Könches
barbara.koenches@zerofoundation.de
Tel.: +49 (0)211 59 80 59 78

TEAM

Catrin Hüske
Research Assistant
Collection
catrin.hueske@zerofoundation.de
+49 (0)0211 59 87 46 91

Sarah Spörer
Administration & Public Relations
sarah.spoerer@zerofoundation.de
+49(0) 0211 59 80 59 77

Mara Vieten
Research Assistant
Archives
mara.vieten@zerofoundation.de
+49 (0)211 59 80 71 33

ZERO house

Visiting the ZERO house

We gladly offer tours of the ZERO house. On our tour, you will get to know the workspaces of ZERO artists Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker, get a glimpse into our archives, and experience Otto Piene’s original fire studio. The tour lasts approx. 45-60 minutes and is only available by prior arrangement. A maximum of 25 people for a guided tour should not be exceeded. Larger groups will be split up and the price increased in accordance with the size of the group. We would be happy to send you a detailed offer for exclusive guided tours.

Location rental

We are happy to rent out our rooms for your events. You can hold a private celebration or a company event in the former studio rooms on the ground floor or on the second floor. Use our rooms for presentations, film screenings, seminars, meetings or receptions and experience the flair of this old studio house. At just under 100sqm, the ground floor – Günther Uecker’s studio in the 1960s – offers space for a maximum of 70 people. At around 70sqm, Otto Piene’s legendary fire studio on the second floor of the ZERO house can accommodate up to 45 people. Feel free to contact us with regards to our various options, as well as when it comes to planning catering and furnishings.

Please note that the ZERO house does not have disabled access.

We look forward to your interest in tours or in renting out our rooms:
Email: info@zerofoundation.de
Tel.: 49-(0)211-59 80 59 76

Opening Hours

In Freundschaft für Günther Uecker / Schenkungen 2024
14th March to 27th April 2025

sundays from 1 to 5 pm

Additional opening times during ART Düsseldorf: Thursday, 10th April 2025 – Sunday, 13th April 2025, daily from 1 to 5 pm

Düsseldorfer Nacht der Museen (“Night of the Museums”): Saturday, 26th April 2025, from 7 pm to 12 am.

Public Guided Tours (in German): Friday, 11th of April 2025, at 1 pm, Sunday, 20th of April, 3 pm and Wednesday, 23rd of April, 12 pm. Free of charge and without prior registration.

GETTING HERE BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT

From Dusseldorf’s main train station, you can reach us with tram lines 704 and 707, alighting at the “Helmholtzstraße” stop.

PARKING

The ZERO house does not have its own parking facilities. We recommend arriving by public transport.

ABCs of Zero

Book Shop

In Freundschaft für Günther Uecker (“In friendship for Günther Uecker”) is a tribute to the artist on his 95th birthday by colleagues, students, curators and collectors. The friendship book brings together personal stories about selected works, poems, photos, drawings and memories.

Authors: Stephan Keller, Antonia Lehmann-Tolkmitt, Detlef Hunsdiek, Marion Ackermann, Ingrid Bachér, Friderike Bagel, Kornelia von Berswordt-Wallrabe, Till Breckner und Afshin Derambakhsh, Gil Bronner, Tony Cragg, Leopold von Diergardt, Felix Droese, Ulrich Erben, Joachim Gauck, Claus Gielisch, Elizabeth Goldring-Piene, Benjamin Katz, Felix Krämer, Kitty Kemr, Norbert Lammert, Sabine Langen-Crasemann und Karla Zerressen, Anna mit Alexander und George Lenz, Heinz Mack, Stephanie Mayer, Christian Megert, Volker Mischok, Matias Möller, Cathrine und Manfred Pape, Hermann Parzinger, Robert und Irmgard Rademacher, Jochen Saueracker, Wolf Schäfer, Ulrike Schmitt, Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, Axel Vervoordt, Stephan von Wiese und Constanze Kleiner, Jürgen Wilhelm, Oliver Wolleh.

Preview: Contributions by Joachim Gauck, Oliver Wolleh and Tony Cragg for In Freundschaft für Günther Uecker

Concept: Barbara Könches
Editorial team: Catrin Hüske, Barbara Könches, Antonia Lehmann-Tolkmitt, Jürgen Wilhelm
Graphic Design: Tipogris Books and Brands, Neuss
Others:
German, multilingual
March 2025, 72 pages
Hardcover, 21 cm x 29,7 cm

Pricing:
> Numbered: 35 € (limited to 300 copies)
> non numbered: 25 € (limited to 100 copies)

plus a shipping fee of €7 (Germany-wide, others to be determined). Collecting your book from the ZERO house is also possible. Please contact us if you wish to do so.

If you are interested, please send an e-mail to info@zerofoundation.de. We will confirm your order, issue an invoice and send your copy after payment.

ZERO-Kunst und Mode (“ZERO art and fashion”)

ZERO was a new beginning. At the end of the 1950s, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker questioned traditional art. This also applies to fashion. The renowned expert Barbara Vinken shows that both share a conceptual interest that sometimes playfully and wittily, sometimes crazy and shifted, threw conventions overboard. Always emphasizing the performative in art, the combination of objects made of light and movement is shown here: from the fashion creations of Lucio Fontana and Yves Klein to the “ZERO dress”. With this publication, the ZERO foundation dedicates itself to a completely unexplored topic. Artworks and documents from the ZERO avant-garde are compiled, contextualized and presented from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Author: Barbara Vinken
Editor: Barbara Könches for ZERO foundation
Graphic Design: Neil Holt, Köln
Publisher: Hatje Cantz, Berlin
More:
German
January 2025, 72 pages, 47 illustrations
Klappenbroschur, 14,2 cm x 2,10 cm

Price: 18 €

plus a shipping fee of 3 € (Germany-wide, others to be determined). Collecting your book from the ZERO house is also possible. Please contact us if you wish to do so.

If you are interested, please send an e-mail to info@zerofoundation.de. We will confirm your order, issue an invoice and send your copy after payment.

“Opening the Archive: The ABCs of ZERO”

For the ZERO avant-garde, traditional conceptions of art could be challenged through transforming the atelier into an exhibition space and disseminating their art through books. In this manner they made friends with the representatives of Concrete Poetry. A diagram visualizes who they thought to be part of the movement: those who were open to experimentation and those were not afraid to work with fire; even in the galleries, few of which were willing to pay homage to the avant-garde at this time. International thinking united the young artists of the 1950s and 60s, whose network extended from Düsseldorf to Milan, Brussels, Paris, and Zagreb. Kinetics and light replaced brushes and canvases, and new music played in the background. They also tried to get closer to nature through the concept of the Open Artwork.

In The ABCs of ZERO, writers, scholars, and authors from the fields of art, music, sociology and theater tell the story of this art movement—from A for atelier to Z for ZERO. Featuring a wealth of photos and documents from an era just emerging from the ruins, but facing the future with optimism, this book recalls a historical moment of peaceful utopia in Europe.

Authors: Iwona Dorota Bigos, Barbara Büscher, Romina Dümler, Rudolf Frisius, Eugen Gomringer, Ann-Kathrin Illmann, Barbara Könches, Bartomeu Marí, Marco Meneguzzo, Leonard Merkes, Nadine Oberste-Hetbleck, Matthieu Poirier, Astrit Schmidt-Burkhardt, Sophia Sotke, Anna-Lena Weise, Rebecca Welkens, Andreas Joh. Wiesand, Jürgen Wilhelm, Regina Wyrwoll

Editor: Barbara Könches for ZERO foundation
Image Editing: Anna-Lena Weise and Rebecca Welkens
Graphic Design: Digibox GmbH, Düsseldorf
Publisher: Hatje Cantz, Berlin
More:
English
October 2024, 492 pages, 260 illustrations
Hardcover, 20,2 cm x 21,2cm

Price: 58 €plus a shipping fee of 7 € (Germany-wide, others to be determined). Collecting your book from the ZERO house is also possible. Please contact us if you wish to do so.

If you are interested, please send an e-mail to info@zerofoundation.de. We will confirm your order, issue an invoice and send your copy after payment.

Media

Excerpts from a conversation with Dieter Jung on the occasion of his 80th birthday, ZERO foundation, 23rd October 2021.

Available in German language only.

Public workshop on the research project “ZERO-Abécédaire”, ZERO foundation, Düsseldorf, 02.09.2023 – 03.09.2023.

“Ein Kleid, monochrom. ZERO and Fashion, Exhibition and Fashion Show, ZERO foundation, Düsseldorf, April 16 – July 2

“Unboxed…Archivgespräche der ZERO foundation”, online project, compilation of interviews conducted from 04/21 – 06/21, ZERO foundation, Düsseldorf

Available in German language only.

#zero_art_aroundtheworld, online project, ZERO foundation, Düsseldorf 02/2021 – 04/2021

“Mack and Music – A conference in honor of Heinz Mack”, hybrid conference, ZERO foundation, Düsseldorf, 26.02.2021
Available in German language only.

“ZERO. Please turn! Open House. Open-Air Exhibition. Conference.“ ZERO foundation, Düsseldorf, 18.10.2018 – 20.10.2018

Exhibition „ZERO” inPohang Museum of Steel Art (POMA), Pohang, Republic of Korea, 04.9.2019 – 27.01.2020

Press

You are welcome to request press releases and photo material from us for editorial and journalistic coverage. Text and photo material is available for download in our press portal. To download this content, please login.
We are happy to send you a valid password upon request.

PRESS CONTACT

ZERO foundation

Sarah Spörer
Administration, Public Relations & Kommunikation

info@zerofoundation.de
Tel.: +49 (0)211 59 80 59 77

Circle of Friends

I eat zero, I drink zero, I sleep zero, I awake zero, I love zero. Zero is beautiful.

(Excerpt from the ZERO Manifesto, 1963)

ZERO is beautiful. Would you like to find out more about ZERO – to experience it and go on a journey with it? Would you like to get to know ZERO in more detail and keep the memory of this art movement alive? Then become a member of our ZERO circle of friends.
Welcome to the circle. As a member, you can take part in exclusive events such as previews or studio and collection visits. You can accompany the circle on visits to ZERO-specific museums and exhibits in New York, Istanbul, Paris, Milan, Amsterdam, Antwerp or Seoul, as well as on tours organised exclusively for the circle of friends. You will get to personally meet with artists, collectors, curators and museum directors. As a member, you will receive all information on the ZERO foundation’s planned exhibitions and activities before anyone else – we keep you in the picture at all times.

Our history

The non-profit association Freunde der ZERO foundation Düsseldorf e.V. [Friends of the ZERO foundation in Dusseldorf] was founded in January 2010 in order to support the foundation’s projects and to expand its unique collection through the acquisition of ZERO art. Additionally, the circle wishes to bring together people who share the same passion: the ZERO period and its art.
We are delighted with the constantly growing number of active members. Everyone is able to play an active role in the Freunde der ZERO foundation Düsseldorf e.V. association, and thus to fill the circle of friends with life and ideas. We would be glad to welcome you to the circle.

Membership

Annual fee for individual membership:	150 euros
Annual fee for double membership:	250 euros
Annual fee for sponsoring membership:	700 euros
Junior members up to the age of 40:	50 euros
Annual fee for company membership:	1,000 euros

Download the membership application!

Annual fees and donations are deductible within the meaning of Section 10b EStG [German Income Tax Act]. A corresponding donation receipt will be made out to each member annually.
Would you like to give a membership to our association as a gift? We also offer the option of a six-month gift membership. The semi-annual fee amounts to 75 euros for individual membership, 125 euros for double membership and 25 euros for individual members under the age of 40.

Board

Detlef Hunsdiek (Chairman), Gisa Berghof, Stefan G. Drzisga, Barbara Könches, George Lenz, Alexa Riederer von Paar, Andreas Rohlfing, Hubertus Schoeller, Georg Wiesner

Programme and Member Support

Alexa Bornmüller

Freunde der ZERO foundation Düsseldorf e.V.
Hüttenstraße 104
40215 Dusseldorf
Tel.: +49 (0)211 59 85 14 86
Email: freundeskreis@zerofoundation.de

Supporter

Supporters and Sponsors

The ZERO foundation is financed by the Department of Culture of the City of Düsseldorf

The ZERO foundation is supported financially and administratively by the Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast

The website was created with significant support of

The ZERO House was significantly funded by

Freunde der ZERO foundation Düsseldorf e.V.

Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art
Dr. Christoph Boeger
BORZOGALLERY
Till Breckner
Dorotheum
Dr. Gabriele Fischer
Jens-Daniel Florian
Elizabeth Goldring Piene
Rolf Kalthöfer
Andreas Kleffel
Sammlung Lenz Schönberg
Ute und Heinz Mack
The Mayor Gallery
Catherine Pape
Tonny und Henk Peeters
Irmgard und Robert Rademacher
Familie Salentin
Harry Schmitz
Hubertus Schoeller
Rüdiger K. Weng
Weng Fine Art AG
Rüdiger K. Weng A+A GmbH

Contact

Hüttenstraße 104
40215 Düsseldorf
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)211 59 80 59 77
Fax: +49 (0)211 59 80 59 76
Email: info@zerofoundation.de

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