TEHRAN -- The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) plans to hold a retrospective of German artist Otto Piene (1928–2014), one of the leading figures in technology-based art, TMCA Director Majid Mollanoruzi said on Tuesday.
The exhibition, which has been organized with the help of Breckner Gallery in Düsseldorf, will open on February 24.
“Piene was one of the foreign enthusiasts of Iran, who drew inspiration from the colors of the tile works of the Imam Mosque in Isfahan to create one of his works,” he stated during a press conference at the TMCA.
The tableau will be among about 100 works to be displayed at the exhibition.
Breckner Gallery is paying the insurance fee for those of Piene’s works that will be showcased at the exhibition, Mollanoruzi said.
“Breckner Gallery began its collaboration with TMAC in 1997 when Alireza Sami-Azar was in charge of the museum and the gallery intends to continue its tie with TMCA and we welcome this connection,” he added.
“German artists have always regarded the four classical elements and philosophy in their works,” he stated and expressed his hope that the exhibition would provide an opportunity for art critics to conduct a comparative study about philosophy and art in the West and East.
German Ambassador Michael Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg and Breckner Gallery director Till Breckner also attend the press conference.
Von Ungern-Sternberg called the exhibition an international event due the fact that all Piene’s works, which will put on display at the exhibition, have been loaned by private collectors and galleries in Germany, Switzerland, the U.S. and several other countries.
Till Breckner spoke of Piene’s childhood when he had to spend all night without any light in order to protect himself from the bombardments during World War II.
Light turned into a symbol of peace and life for him after the war came to an end, he added.
Piene studied art in Munich and Dusseldorf, as well as taking a degree in philosophy at Cologne University.
He founded the influential European postwar movement Group Zero with Heinz Mack in 1957, as part of an effort to transform and redefine art in the aftermath of the Second World War.
His most famous work was the 1600ft Rainbow that lit up the Munich sky at the end of the 1972 Olympics.
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