The Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, at Remagen, Germany, has opened a retrospective dedicated to Otto Piene.
The exhibition, titled Alchemist and Stormer of the Skies, features 60 canvases, ceramics and light works of the co-founder of the ZERO movement in Dusseldorf in 1958. Otto Piene (1928-2014) is one of the protagonists of international abstraction after 1945. On the occasion of the great ZERO farewell party in 1966, Piene himself already was a guest at Rolandseck. Piene continued to develop his art throughout his life, as the exhibition shows by means of Central to Piene’s oeuvre is the crossing of traditional boundaries of works and moving towards the sensual experience of light and space. This sensuality is achieved in the abstract grid and fire pictures as well as in the ceramics by specifically treating the surfaces in terms of colour, structure and relief. In various groups of works one connecting element becomes apparent: the circle – a formal constant and at the same time a symbol for the infinity of space. Piene carries this symbolism forward with references to the cosmos, the firmament and the stars.
The exhibition features a group of works by some of Piene’s peers and European contemporary artists.
Mazzoleni is proud to announce that a stunning black Fontana, Concetto Spaziale, 1962, from their collection is shown in the exhibition.
OTTO PIENE
Alchemist and Stormer of the Skies
Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck
Remagen, Germany
17 March 2019 – 5 January 2020