Otto Piene: Paths to Paradise at Museum Tinguely in Basel (Switzerland) is an extensive monographic exhibition that emphasizes German artist Otto Piene’s commitment to thinking across media and uniting his practice in its claim of providing what he outlined in 1961 as “paths to paradise.” Otto Piene (1928-2014) was one of the members of the group ZERO, which he founded with Heinz Mack in 1957, with Günther Uecker joining the group in 1961. In 1957, Piene developed the Grid Picture, from 1959 he created the Lichtballette (“Light Ballet”), kinetic installations where light was projected through grids. Otto Piene represented Germany at the Venice Biennale in 1967 and 1971, and exhibited at documenta in Kassel, Germany, in 1959, 1964 and 1977.

The retrospective at Museum Tinguely has its focus on works from the late 1960s and the 1970s, when Piene shifted from Zero to Sky Art and began splitting his time between the US and West Germany. The exhibition includes immersive installations such as Lichtraum mit Mönchengladbachwand, 1963-2013; Anemones: An Air Aquarium, 1976/2023; and The Proliferation of the Sun, 1966/1967. The exhibition has been curated by Dr. Sandra Beate Reimann and Dr. Lauren Elizabeth Hanson and runs until May 12, 2024.

Otto Piene: Paths to Paradise (Wege zum Paradies) / Retrospective at Museum Tinguely, Basel (Switzerland). Vernissage, February 6, 2024.