‘Acts of Light’ at Goethe-Museum

Berlin // Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2018

From March to May 2018, the Goethe-Museum Düsseldorf is presenting ‘Acts of Light,’ a special exhibition that explores the relationship between the work of Heinz Mack and the ideas and thinking of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Mack, the avant-garde artist of the innovative ZERO movement, and Goethe, the icon of classical literature, come together in this show, curated by Dr. Barbara Steingießer, which focuses on the pair’s explorations of light and color. Spanning a range of media, the exhibition presents numerous works by Heinz Mack that have never or only seldom been shown.

Light and color and their interactions are central themes in the works of painter and sculptor Heinz Mack. Goethe also studied these phenomena for four decades. His book ‘Theory of Colors’ is not only his most comprehensive work, but he also considered it his most important. In addition to exploring the love of the colors of light and the brilliance of color, the exhibition looks at parallels between these two artistic personalities, such as their common interest in forms and structures in nature or the inspiration that both drew from the art of the East.

Alongside unseen works by Heinz Mack, Goethe-Museum Düsseldorf will also display numerous items from the collection of the Goethe-Museum, as well as rare items on loan from Weimar, Dresden and Vienna.