Otto Piene’s (1928–2014) prodigious oeuvre includes his well-known smoke and fire paintings, “light ballet” installations and “Sky Art” events along with kinetic sculptures, ceramics, screen-prints and architectural interventions. Characterized by a combination of art and technology, his work demands that viewers play an active role in the artwork. A keen philosophical thinker, Piene also wrote a number of essays about art and perception.

© Otto Piene Estate/Sprüth Magers, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2022. Photo: Stefan Altenburger
Welt in der Schwebe. Luft als Künstlerisches Material.
Up in the Air. Air as an Artistic Material.
Group Exhibition
Kunstmuseum Bonn
Through June 19, 2022
Air has an existential significance for all forms of life in the world. It is everywhere, albeit invisible and evanescent; it is literally impalpable. While until now in everyday life we have taken air for granted, in current political and social discourses air appears as a central element: during the corona crisis, we wear face masks to protect others from the air we breathe out, scientists are investigating the role of aerosols in the transmission of the Covid-19 virus, and climate activists fight for clean air and hence against climate change.
The exhibition focuses on air as an artistic material and as a carrier of forms and ideas in the visual arts. The works on display, just like the material they all share, are sometimes expansive, sometimes minimal or even invisible, solid as well as ephemeral, they are located indoors as well as outdoors. The art works storm, whisper, blow, evaporate, breathe, and float.