Happy Birthday Günther Uecker

A core element of Uecker’s work is the use of materials that allow for the creation of a three-dimensional material image that can capture movement and light, carrying out a highly independent transformation of his structure pictures, which were still strongly based on the concrete painting of the fifties, into a pictorial language of its own, which contains a strong sensual element. Light and constant change through its effect and the angle of observation. In this way, Uecker succeeds in integrating movement and the passage of time into his works, embodied by the kinetics a central theme for the ZERO artists. However, Günther Uecker does not limit himself to a purely purist aesthetic, but also ventures into more transcendental, spiritual shperes.

Today, Uecker's "White Mill" is clearly a museum piece and a pioneering work of the ZERO artist. He combines his characteristic nail-covered, often white surfaces with double rotating discs to create an almost surrealist kinetic sculpture. Uecker's mill immerses the viewer in an experience of time and space intensified by the constantly changing aspects of the seemingly floating surfaces created by the nails. It is this perceptual experience, which is completely self-referential and elevates the appearance of the work of art above any interpretation, that has been central to ZERO's intentions.

Image: "Weisse Mühle" (1964)