The Proliferation of the Sun

Otto Piene, born in Laasphe (Westphalia) in 1928, belonged to the young post-war generation of artists who sought artistic paths away from traditional painting.

As a co-founder of the ZERO group, Otto Piene developed spatial installations in the 1960s with mechanized and programmed light sculptures that transport the viewer into experiential spaces. But before that, Piene had depicted light in “the purest form possible” in monochrome, yellow, and white grid images. Even then, he discovered that “the energy of light is mysteriously transformed into the vital energy of the viewer across the field of the image.”

With 35 early smoke drawings, grid and fire images, and two large room installations, the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen presents the decisive phases of work by ZERO artist Otto Piene, which to this day give him a pioneering role in intermedia room installations.

Curator: Barbara Engelbach

The exhibition was made possible with the support of the Kultur!Büro of the Siegen Wittgenstein district, RWE Net AG, and Leica Camera AG.