Otto Piene
Eye
Artist
Otto Piene
(1928, Bad Laasphe, Germany - 2014, Berlin), German
Original Title
Eye
Date1963
Mediumoil on canvas with smoke residue
Dimensions80 × 100 cm
Classificationspaintings
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionGerman artist Otto Piene was a visionary figure of the post-war art world. He belonged to a generation of artists whose work was significantly shaped by their experience of the war. In keeping with other members of the art group ZERO, Piene’s futuristic work combined art with science and technology, with their dematerialized fusion intended to help to engender a better future with a new, spiritual worldview. His artworks extensively incorporated light, air, and fire. All of his projects sought to visualise the beauty of nature through simple optical means and thus create a better world for collective life and future generations. In the ZERO group’s worldview, light and modern technology were meant to lead European society out of its deep social trauma. Piene initially made raster paintings which visualized movement and vibrations of light as well as the relationship between light, materiality, and movement. In parallel, he also experimented with smoke drawings and paintings. Another essential component of his oeuvre is the known as the Light Ballet (“Lichtballet” in German)—a light performance created during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The ballet was initially based on mechanical movement, which he later robotized in collaboration with John Powell and the MIT Museum Studio. The idea of the Light Ballet also provided the basis for his later work in the form of permanently installed Light Rooms (“Lichtraums” in German), comprising various light objects, kinetic objects, and perforated and transilluminated walls, creating unique spaces imbued with an imaginative, dreamy atmosphere.
Eye (1963) is a captivating crimson painting with a black, elliptical centre—an imaginary eye into the innards of the canvas. The work represents an example of Piene’s fire paintings, created through material experimentation with the element of fire, which, beginning in 1963, developed from his work with smoke. Alongside light, fire played a central role in his innovative work. Paintings created using this element reference his personal experience of early childhood during the war. In his work, Piene emphasized the creative potential of fire, which used in this piece to interrupt the homogenous plane of red colour. Commonly appearing in his fire paintings, the motif of an eye directly references the sensory organ, which is vital and indispensable for artists.
Otto Piene (1928, Bad Laasphe – 2014, Berlin) briefly studied painting at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich from and subsequently continued his education at the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. From 1954 to 1967, he studied philosophy at the Universität zu Köln, developing a deeper theoretical grounding which would subsequently shape his art. He was a founding member of the art group ZERO (1957–1966), whose members produced both solo work and collective projects. In 1968, Piene was invited to the Centre for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, later becoming its director in 1974. Many of his projects and artistic activities were linked to the art group ZERO. Together with Heinz Mack and Günther Uecker, they created their first light space, titled Salon de Lumière, at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1962. Two years later, they collaborated on a project for documenta 3 in Kassel. In 1965, Piene moved to New York City and proceeded to have his first solo exhibition, titled Light Ballet, at the Howard Wise Gallery. This exhibition programmatically focued on light art and was the first of its kind in the USA. Piene’s first solo exhibition in Germany took place in 1966 at the legendary Galerie Schmela in Düsseldorf. He exhibited at the German pavilion at the World Expo 67. In 1972, he created a rainbow light installation which illuminated the sky above the Olympic Stadium in Munich during the closing ceremony of the Olympics. Piene also worked on other projects situated in public space and developed the concept of sky art. An early example of this approach was releasing of balloons into the air during a celebration in Düsseldorf. Only in the USA did he realize large-scale sky art projects, born out of a collaboration with the CAVS at MIT. These included works presented at documenta 6 in Kassel (1977) and at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (1978). Piene’s work also adorned the facades of buildings, through a light installation titled Silberne Frequenz, constructed on the Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kunstgeschichte, Münster (1970–1971 / 2014). In 1968, Piene moved to Boston and became a member of the CAVS at MIT, later acting as its director from 1974 to 1993. Retrospectives of his work have taken been held at the Museum am Ostwall in Dortmund (1967), the Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne (1973/1974), and the Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf (1996). As part of the art group ZERO, he received the Grand Prize at the 4th Biennale d’Arte in San Marino. In 1966, he received the Sculpture Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York. Piene was also a laureate of the Konrad von Soest Prize for 1968. His most recent retrospective took place at the Museum für Neue Kunst in Karlsruhe in 2013.
Eye (1963) is a captivating crimson painting with a black, elliptical centre—an imaginary eye into the innards of the canvas. The work represents an example of Piene’s fire paintings, created through material experimentation with the element of fire, which, beginning in 1963, developed from his work with smoke. Alongside light, fire played a central role in his innovative work. Paintings created using this element reference his personal experience of early childhood during the war. In his work, Piene emphasized the creative potential of fire, which used in this piece to interrupt the homogenous plane of red colour. Commonly appearing in his fire paintings, the motif of an eye directly references the sensory organ, which is vital and indispensable for artists.
Otto Piene (1928, Bad Laasphe – 2014, Berlin) briefly studied painting at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich from and subsequently continued his education at the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. From 1954 to 1967, he studied philosophy at the Universität zu Köln, developing a deeper theoretical grounding which would subsequently shape his art. He was a founding member of the art group ZERO (1957–1966), whose members produced both solo work and collective projects. In 1968, Piene was invited to the Centre for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, later becoming its director in 1974. Many of his projects and artistic activities were linked to the art group ZERO. Together with Heinz Mack and Günther Uecker, they created their first light space, titled Salon de Lumière, at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1962. Two years later, they collaborated on a project for documenta 3 in Kassel. In 1965, Piene moved to New York City and proceeded to have his first solo exhibition, titled Light Ballet, at the Howard Wise Gallery. This exhibition programmatically focued on light art and was the first of its kind in the USA. Piene’s first solo exhibition in Germany took place in 1966 at the legendary Galerie Schmela in Düsseldorf. He exhibited at the German pavilion at the World Expo 67. In 1972, he created a rainbow light installation which illuminated the sky above the Olympic Stadium in Munich during the closing ceremony of the Olympics. Piene also worked on other projects situated in public space and developed the concept of sky art. An early example of this approach was releasing of balloons into the air during a celebration in Düsseldorf. Only in the USA did he realize large-scale sky art projects, born out of a collaboration with the CAVS at MIT. These included works presented at documenta 6 in Kassel (1977) and at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (1978). Piene’s work also adorned the facades of buildings, through a light installation titled Silberne Frequenz, constructed on the Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kunstgeschichte, Münster (1970–1971 / 2014). In 1968, Piene moved to Boston and became a member of the CAVS at MIT, later acting as its director from 1974 to 1993. Retrospectives of his work have taken been held at the Museum am Ostwall in Dortmund (1967), the Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne (1973/1974), and the Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf (1996). As part of the art group ZERO, he received the Grand Prize at the 4th Biennale d’Arte in San Marino. In 1966, he received the Sculpture Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York. Piene was also a laureate of the Konrad von Soest Prize for 1968. His most recent retrospective took place at the Museum für Neue Kunst in Karlsruhe in 2013.
