A collection from the ‘Rainbow’ series by the late German artist Otto Piene is currently being showcased at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.
The exhibition was inaugurated at the venue of the museum on Tuesday (Feb. 24), in the presence of German Ambassador to Tehran Michael Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg, head of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin Joachim Jaager, art deputy at the ministry of culture Ali Moradkhani and head of visual arts department Majid Molla-Norouzi, and a large number of artists and art fans.
It is a clear sign of the cultural diplomacy Iran is pursuing, Moradkhani said, pointing to the numerous festivals held in the past year in the country, in which foreign artists presented their works, MNA reported.
Hoping that the exhibition would be a start for greater cultural relations with Germany, he added that such events “will surely help present a realistic picture of Iran to the world, and as a cradle of art and culture.”
Piene was a German painter, printmaker and environmental artist, as well as the founder of the influential European postwar movement Group Zero Otto Piene.
This is the fourth time the museum is hosting a German artist’s works, but the first time that Piene’s works are exhibited in the Middle East, revealing a variety of art ranging from paintings to light sculptures, smoke and fire paintings, and the unique environmental ‘sky art’, MNA reported.
‘Sky art’ is a term he coined in 1969, which allowed him to use landscapes and cities themselves as the focal point of his work.
Nature Inspired
Most of Piene’s works have been inspired by nature and based on the four elements of light, fire, air and earth, which points to the philosophical viewpoint of this avant-garde artist.
One of his works in particular is said to have been specially made for the Tehran exhibition. It is the light sculpture inspired by tile works of Imam Mosque created from glass.
Piene passed away in July 2014 and did not get the chance to attend the exhibition in Tehran. He always sought a better world in his dreams and believed his most brilliant work was “to light up the dark sky”. The exhibition will run until April 17 at the museum located on North Kargar St., next to Laleh Park.
