Opening the Archive: The ABCs of ZERO

The ZERO Art Movement from A to Z

Challenging traditional concepts of art, for the ZERO avant-garde, the atelier became the exhibition space; books were a way to disseminate art. They made friends with the representatives of Concrete Poetry. A diagram visualises who they thought to be part of the movement: those who were open to experimentation, who were not afraid to work with fire; even in the galleries, few of which were willing to pay homage to the avant-garde.

International thinking united the young artists of the 1950s and 60s, whose network extended from Düsseldorf to Milan, Brussels, Paris, and Zagreb. Kinetics and light replaced brush and canvas, and new music played in the background. They tried to get closer to nature with the concept of the Open Artwork.

In The ABCs of ZERO, writers, scholars, and authors from the fields of art, music, sociology and theatre tell the story of this art movement—from A for atelier to Z for ZERO. Featuring a wealth of photos and documents from an era just emerging from the ruins, but facing the future with optimism, this book recalls a moment in time of peaceful utopia in Europe.