Stille (“Silence”) at ZERO house
John Cage’s most famous piece of music is called 4:33, which consists of three movements performed by musicians on stage and is four minutes and thirty-three seconds long. For the entire duration of the piece, you hear – nothing, i.e. no sound from the instruments, but a multitude of noises in the room, a cough from the audience, perhaps the ticking of a wristwatch, the whispering of your neighbors, a streetcar rattling past the concert hall or a car’s rattling exhaust pipe.
Silence turns out to be a cornucopia from which acoustic signals can be filtered out, may they be internal noises such as a steady heartbeat or the quiet flow of blood through the body.
Silence is a form of possibility that concentrates on the essential, away from the loud.
Light is silent, movement is silent, the pulsing of a light bulb is silent, ZERO is silent. In silence we sharpen our senses for the diversity of sensory impressions.
From the Zero Hour, from the new beginning, from the transition from past to future, ZERO art was created in a moment of meditation.
The exhibition Stille (“Silence”) can be experienced from the 27th of April 2024 at the ZERO house with works by Günther Uecker, Otto Piene and Heinz Mack.
Works:
Günther Uecker, Lichtregen, 1966/2006, installation
Otto Piene, Corona Borealis, 1965
Heinz Mack, Rotor für Lichtgitter, 1967
Opening:
➤ 27th of April 2024, 7pm to Midnight,
as part of the Düsseldorfer NACHT DER MUSEEN (“Düsseldorf Night of the Museum”)
at ZERO house, Hüttenstraße 104, 40215 Düsseldorf
Special Events at the ZERO house:
Public Guided Tours
➤ 22nd of May 2024, 2 pm and 4h June 2024, 6 pm
Participation free of charge and without prior registration.
Stille („Silence“) meets Sound Bath
➤ 16th of May 2024, 6 or 7 pm and 22nd of May 2024, 6 or 7 pm
Katharina Spöntjes-Busch and her Crystal Singing Bowls, Photo: Julia Buhr
Visit our exhibition Stille (“Silence”) in combination with the participation in a 45-minute Sound Bath by Katharina Spöntjes-Busch in the surroundings of Otto Piene’s original Feueratelier.
“Sound doesn’t have to be loud to have an effect”.
Katharina Spöntjes-Busch is a yoga & sound meditation teacher and advocate for slowing down. Inspired by the unique effect of the Crystal Singing Bowls, she founded the Slow Space-concept in Düsseldorf, where Sound Baths are created as intensive sensory experiences.
The Sound Bath is a method that is thousands of years old and promotes relaxation, balance and a feeling of inner stillness and peace. With the help of sound, the body and nervous system are given gentle impulses to slow down and immerse themselves in a conscious/meditative state.
Contribution towards expenses 9 €. Please register in advance at info@zerofoundation.de
The ZERO team is looking forward to welcoming you!
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)Ute Eggeling
Alexander Fils
Elizabeth Goldring Piene
Detlef Hunsdiek
Miriam Koch
Heinz Mack
Cornelia Mohrs
Ulf Montanus
Eva Mörger
Manfred Neuenhaus
Johanna Reich
Dorothee Schneider
Hubertus Schoeller
Günther Uecker
Heike van den Valentyn
Antonia Lehmann-Tolkmitt (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
Sarah Spörer
Administration & Public Relations
sarah.spoerer@zerofoundation.de
+49(0) 0211 59 80 59 77
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.
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
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ZERO foundation
Sarah Spörer
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.
Detlef Hunsdiek (Chairman), Gisa Berghof, Stefan G. Drzisga, Barbara Könches, George Lenz, Alexa Riederer von Paar, Andreas Rohlfing, Hubertus Schoeller, Georg Wiesner
Marlene Reinkemeier
Freunde der ZERO foundation Düsseldorf e.V.
Hüttenstraße 104
40215 Dusseldorf
Tel.: +49 (0)211 59 85 14 86
Email: freundeskreis@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.
Invitation 1st Evening exhibition , 1957
Gladbacher Straße 69, Düsseldorf. Inv.-No: mkp.ZERO.1.VII.71, Heinz Mack estate, ZERO foundation, Düsseldorf.
In 1957, Heinz Mack and Otto Piene opened the first of their so-called „Abendausstellungen“ [evening exhibitions], which could be seen for one evening in the studio spaces of the two artists, located at Gladbacher Straße 69 in Düsseldorf.