The object artist, painter and graphic artist Otto Piene counts among the most important and innovative heads of German post-war art.
Otto Piene, founding member of the group ZERO, has become particularly famous for his kinetic light installations, which made substantial contributions to an art that consisted of light, space and motion. At the same time his works attempt to bring the natural element into harmony with technical methods. Particluarly his "Lichtballett" [Light Ballet] made for great fame, just as his "Olympia Regenbogen" from 1972 did. Besides electric light, Otto Piene was also fascinated by natural light and its medium fire, which he artistically realized in his "Rauchbildern" [Smoke Pictures].
Otto Piene, who led the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge as of 1974, is represented in renowned international collections and was honored with numerous one-man shows; just recently the 'Museum am Ostwall' showed the comprehensive exhibition "Otto Piene:spectrum".