Otto Piene
The Proliferation of the Sun
24 May - 10 Aug 2024
Otto Piene, The Proliferation of the Sun, Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Los Angeles, May 24– August 10, 2024, Photo: Robert Wedemeyer
Otto Piene (1928–2014), cofounder of the ZERO group and longtime director of MIT’s influential Center for Advanced Visual Studies, combined art and technology in works that comprised light rooms, inflatable sculptures, ceramics, drawings, paintings and performances. Colorful and dynamic, they consistently engage the viewer’s perception and participation. Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers are pleased to present Piene’s monumental, immersive installation ”The Proliferation of the Sun” (1967/2014) at the Los Angeles gallery, marking the artist’s first solo presentation on the West Coast. Featuring seven digital projections of hand-painted slides and a soundtrack of the artist’s voice directing them, the work envelops visitors and the gallery in shifting prismatic tones that generate, in Piene’s words, a “poetic journey through space.”