“Sundew and Selected Works,” currently on view at Sperone Westwater gallery, is a meticulous compilation of Otto Piene’s most coveted works spanning from his early career in 1957 to some of his later works completed only months before his death in 2014. The exhibit is comprised of Piene’s notable inflatable sculptures, light installations, and red paintings inspired by fire and smoke.
This is the first solo presentation of Piene’s work in New York since 2010. The German artist was known for experimenting with kinetic sculpture and installation art. Piene employed technology, rudiments of color, light, and motion into his pieces to give a significant form across all his works.
Untitled
1957/1965
Piene co-founded, along with Heinz Mack, the Zero Group which became an international art movement born out of the desire to reframe mainstream definitions of art following the World War II era. The exhibition features numerous of Piene’s works during this time, many of which are characterized by the use of different mediums, monochrome patterns, and the exploration of light as a form of communicative media.
The retrospective presents approximately 40 of Piene’s work from the last six decades, including the Rasterbilder screen pictures series (1957), the 12-foot-tall inflatable sculpture Red Sundew 2 (1970), the volcano-like painting Kilauea (1975), and an eight-part light installation Lichtballette, dominated by the Mönchengladbach Light Wall (2013).
Oil on paper mounted on board
“Sundew and Selected Works” is on view at Sperone Westwater through March 12.
28 1/2 x 40 inches
Courtesy of Sperone Westwater
