Munich, 19 July, 2014, (kk) – He was a luminary of post-war avant-gard art, he worked with fire, air and light. He fascinated people, made them wonder and dream. Otto Piene passed away. The world-famous ZERO artist died of a heart attack in the afternoon of Thursday, 17 July at the age of 86 in Berlin.

The evening before his current exhibition "The Proliferation of the Sun" opened at the Nationalgalerie. Many other projects had been in planning, such as a "Sky Event" on the roof of the Berlin Nationalgalerie on Saturday, for which illuminated, star-shaped air sculptures, so-called "Inflatables" were planned to ascend into the nocturnal sky. The artist was particularly happy about being a guest in Berlin, where he had had one of his first solo shows. The air sculptures will start despite his death, following his family's wish – a dignified commemoration of the exceptional artist.

"Hardly any other artist embodied the innovative spirit of the 1960s more than Otto Piene did", said Robert Ketterer. He continued: "His oeuvre meant great pioneering work for contemporary art in general".

Born in the Westphalian town of Laasphe on 28 April, 1928, Otto Piene first studied art at the academies in Munich and Duesseldorf as well as philosophy in Cologne. As of the mid 1950s he began to examine light as a means of artistic expression. In 1957 he founded, together with Heinz Mack, the artist group "ZERO", which was later joined by Günther Uecker. Up into the 1960s the three artists organized numerous group exhibitions, in 1964 they were represented at documenta 3 with a "ZERO Light Room". The same year Piene took on a teaching post at the University of Pennsylvania for four years and continued his teaching activities at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, where he has held a professorship for environment art since 1972. After another participation in documenta, he became a member of the "Zentrums für Kunst und Medien" (art and media board) in Karlsruhe in 1990.

Otto Piene became famous for his light-cinetic works, especially for his light ballet, in which the artist sought to create a connection of nature and technique. His occupation with light, motion and space also shows in his technically unique grid and fire pictures, in his air and light sculptures and, of course, in his Sky Events.

Since it was founded in 1954, Ketterer Kunst has been firmly established in the front ranks of auction houses dealing in fine art and rare books, with its headquarters in Munich and a branch in Hamburg. Gallery rooms in Berlin as well as representatives in Heidelberg, Düsseldorf and Modena (Italy) contribute substantially to the company's success. In addition, exhibitions, special theme and charity auctions as well as permanent online auctions on www.ketterer-internet-auction.com are regular events at Ketterer Kunst. Robert Ketterer is auctioneer and owner of Ketterer Kunst.