"It must be possible to take away the materiality of art objects.
They should become vibrating light phenomena.
The light in the light, the light in the space should become visible."
Sale Monumentali Bibilioteca Marciana
Heinz Mack - Vibration of Light
In the splendid and monumental Sala Sansoviniana of the Biblioteca Marciana in the heart of Piazza San Marco, the exhibition - Heinz Mack - Vibration of Light - until July 17 - is curated by Manfred Moller. The nonagenarian German painter and sculpture Heinz Mack's works are set in an art-historically impressive dialogue with the wall and ceiling paintings by Titian, Tintoretto, and
Veronese. The imposing spatial installation
presents an impressive cross-section of
Mack’s oeuvre of the last 60 years: beside large-scale paintings, a group of partly rotating light
stelaes and a four-meter-high mirror sculpture, created especially for this exhibition, which focuses
primarily on paintings in black, grey and white, in which the artist rather
deals with the theme of structure than colour. The show’s highlight is certainly the six-meter-wide and three-and-a-half-meter-high painting entitled - The Garden of Eden - above right.
Empire Noire - Chromatic Constallation - 2014
EX Tempora - Chromatic Constallation - 1997-1998
The Garden of Eden - Chromatic Constallation - 2011
Heinz Mack
December 2021 in front of a Chromatic Constellation - 2021
West-Eastern Divan - 1998-1999
pastel crayon on hand-made paper
Heinz Mack, who in 1957 together with Otto Piene founded the internationally influential and
until 1966 active ZERO group, which later included Gunther Uecker, explores the
theme of light in his work. The four-meter-high mirror sculpture - above - captures, reflects and distorts the paintings and the splendors of the monumental Sala Sansoviniana. Mack as a pioneer of Land Art, had already installed experimental light
stelaes and objects in
pristine natural landscapes such as the Sahara and later in the Arctic with
the aim of exploring light in its purity as such.
Empire Noire - Chromatic Constallation - 2014
West-Eastern Divan -1998-1999
Besides the seven gigantic works on
canvas, there are eight light-reflecting and partly rotating stelae
made of polished aluminium and stainless steel - above - on display in the vestibule. Through the principle of rotation,
which Heinz Mack also explores in his paintings, the light in the space is not only captured and
reflected holistically, but the objects themselves become dematerialized at times as well.
Untitled - Chromatic Constallation - 2020
In Memoriam Berlewi 1924 - Chromatic Constallation - 2000
West-Eastern Divan - 1998-1999
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New York: Guggenheim Museum - ZERO: Countdown to
Tomorrow, 1950s–60s Exhibition
Venice: Peggy Guggenheim Collection - AZIMUT/H. Continuity
and Newness Exhibition
