16 April – 02 July 2023
Fashion designs by Viktoria Lorenz, in front of the ZERO-House. Image and Credits: Johanna Sophia Spahn
Opening hours of the exhibition:
until July 2, 2023, Sundays 1-5 p.m.
June 2-4, 2023, each day from 1-5 p.m. (as part of: strike a pose. Festival for art, fashion and style)
Fashion show featuring Viktoria Lorenz’s ZERO collection in the exhibition:
Saturday, June 3, 2023, 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.
Public tours:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 14, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
When art meets fashion… On the occasion of the ZERO foundation’s fifteenth anniversary, it dedicates an exhibition to the relationship between ZERO and fashion.
The project includes an exhibition in which original works by ZERO artists such as Enrico Castellani, Lucio Fontana, Yayoi Kusama, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Günther Uecker and Lothar Wolleh meet contemporary scenography and current fashion creations by the young designer Viktoria Lorenz.
For the first time, the exhibition fans out the theme of fashion through both original “ZERO clothes” and cross-references to materials from the ZERO archive. The photographs, articles, and documents presented show, multifaceted relationships between the postwar artistic and fashion avant-garde. Did you know, for example, that Lucio Fontana also designed dresses that even his colleague Nanda Vigo liked to wear on festive occasions?
Highlights among the exhibits include an evening dress designed by Yves Klein for the architect’s wife Anita Ruhnau for the opening of the Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen and an early shoe object by Yayoi Kusama. The legendary “ZERO dress”, which was an important part of these spectacular performances during the ZERO demonstrations of the 1960s, will also be on display.
In keeping with the spirit of ZERO – always emphasizing the performative nature of art – the exhibition will be enlivened on two dates by fashion shows by ZERO-inspired fashion designer Viktoria Lorenz.
With Ein Kleid, monochrom, the ZERO foundation brings the art of the 1950s/60s into a stimulating exchange with contemporary design, scenography, sound collages, and offers a young team of curators and artists the opportunity to look Back to the Future,” says Barbara Könches, director of the ZERO foundation.
The renowned fashion theorist Barbara Vinken, Professor of General Literary Studies and Romance Philology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, will delve into the topic of ZERO and fashion in a guest lecture on October 2, 2023 at the ZERO House. A subsequent publication is planned
Barbara Könches, director of the ZERO foundation, in an interview about ZERO on the digital platform infra
Credits:Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Günther Uecker, Amsterdam 1962 © Photo: Raoul van den Boom, Archive of the ZERO foundation, Düsseldorf, Germany.
In this detailed interview, Barbara Könches, director of the ZERO foundation, talks about the beginnings of the famous avant-garde, the influence of Lucio Fontana, and the special relationship between artist and recipient at ZERO. The interview with curator Lucija Šutej was published on the digital platform infra, a young magazine that deals with different areas of visual art. Read the whole interview here: https://infra-magazine.com/2023/02/18/zero/
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 20th 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.
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.
Heinz Mack
Otto Piene
Günther Uecker
Stephan Keller (Chairman)
Miriam Koch (Vice Chairwoman)
Alexander Fils
Elizabeth Goldring Piene
Andreas Kleffel
Miriam Koch
Anneliese Lenz
Heinz Mack
Eva Mörger
Ulf Montanus
Manfred Neuenhaus
Robert Rademacher
Markus Raub
Dorothee Schneider
Hubertus Schoeller
Günther Uecker
Friderike Bagel (Chairwoman)
Claus Gielisch
Felix Krämer
Harry Schmitz
Jürgen Wilhelm
Barbara Könches
barbara.koenches@zerofoundation.de
Tel.: +49 (0)211 59 80 59 78
Romina Dümler
Curator
romina.duemler@zerofoundation.de
+49 (0)0211 59 87 46 91
Leonard Merkes
Administration & Public Relations
leonard.merkes@zerofoundation.de
+49(0) 0211 59 80 59 77
Anna-Lena Weise
Project Manager
anna-lena.weise@zerofoundation.de
+49(0)0211 87 58 81 10
Rebecca Welkens
Archives
rebecca.welkens@zerofoundation.de
+49 (0)211 59 80 71 33
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.
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
Only after registering by phone.
From Dusseldorf’s main train station, you can reach us with tram lines 704 and 707, alighting at the “Helmholtzstraße” stop.
The ZERO house does not have its own parking facilities. We recommend arriving by public transport.
“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
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.
ZERO foundation
Leonard Merkes
Administration, Public Relations & Kommunikation
info@zerofoundation.de
Tel.: +49 (0)211 59 80 59 77
(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.
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.
| 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.
Georg Wiesner (Chairman), Stefan G. Drzisga, Gisa Berghof, Till Breckner, Andreas Kleffel, Barbara Könches, Antonia Lehmann-Tolkmitt, George Lenz, Hubertus Schoeller
N.N.
Freunde der ZERO foundation Düsseldorf e.V.
Hüttenstraße 104
40215 Dusseldorf
Tel.: +49 (0)211 59 80 59 77
Email: freunde@zerofoundation.de
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
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
This is a selection from the archive and collection of the ZERO foundation. You can view the entire archive here.
edition original 1, 1962–1964
edited by Hans Möller, Hofhaus Press, Düsseldorf, 16 multiples by Arman, Christo, Lucio Fontana, Oskar Holweck, Yves Klein, Heinz Mack, Almir Mavignier, Otto Piene, Martial Raysse, Diter Rot, Jesús Rafael Soto, Jean Tinguely, Günther Uecker, Per Olof Ultvedt, Jef Verheyen
each c. 41,6 x 36,4 cm, diverse material, Invent-Nr. FK.ZERO.2020.01, ZERO foundation –loan of Friends of ZERO foundation e.V., photo: Judith Michaelis