Heinz Mack turns 90

The great ZERO artist Heinz Mack celebrates his 90th birthday today. Congratulations!

In 1958, Mack and Otto Piene started a series of what they called Abendausstellungen (evening exhibitions), which could be seen only on that specific evening at their studio in Düsseldorf. This series was the initial event for the formation of the group ZERO (with Günther Uecker joining a little later) and the international ZERO movement. Named after the second zero at a rocket launch, ZERO aims to create a 'zone of silence before the new beginning' and to effect a dematerialization of the artwork. In doing so, the viewer is confronted with provocative aspects such as light, movement, space, time, dynamics, vibration and serial structure.. Among the participants of the ZERO movement were Yves Klein, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni and Jean Tinguely. The aim was to set back contemporary art to a Zero baseline and start from scratch.

Mack is best known for his contributions to op art, light art and kinetic art. He was one of the first artists who used aluminium in his works, creating his "Rotors".

The Kunstpalast Düsseldorf is dedicating an exhibition to the painter and sculptor on the occasion of his 90th birthday, focusing on his early work from the 1950s to the 1970s.