Zero

de Katherine Atkins, Jennifer Bantz

"... presents the first large-scale survey in a United States museum dedicated to the history of the experimental German artists' group Zero (1957-66) and ZERO, an international network of artists that shared the group's aspiration to redefine and transform art in the aftermath of World War II. The exhibition featured work by the three core members of Group Zero--Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, and Günther Uecker--and by more than 40 artists from 10 countries who comprised the larger ZERO network, including Lucio Fontana, Yayoi Kusama, Yves Klein, Piero Manzoni, Jesús Rafael Soto, Jean Tinguely, and herman de vries. These artists found common cause in the desire to use novel materials drawn from everyday life, nature, and technology and to develop innovative techniques and formats such as room-scaled installations, kinetic artworks, and live art actions. Focusing on the points of intersection, exchange, and collaboration that define the ZERO artists' shared history, the exhibition is at once a snapshot of a specific group and a portrait of a generation. ZERO: Countdown to Tomorrow, 1950s-60s celebrates the pioneering nature of ZERO art and the transnational vision advanced by this network of artists during a pivotal decade." -- Publisher's description.