ZEN 49

ZEN 49 was a group of seven German artists who joined forces in 1949 in Munich.

In July 1949, founded on the initiative of the art critic John Anthony Thwaites and the artist Rupprecht Geiger seven artists ( Baumeister, Rolf Cavael, Gerhard Fietz, Rupprecht Geiger, Willy Hempel, Brigitte Matschinsky - Denninghoff and Fritz Winter ) in Munich's Moderne Galerie Otto Stangl, the group of non-representational, the end of 1949 / beginning of 1950 took the name ZEN 49. Gerhard Fietz wrote the name ZEN 49 documenting the spiritual community of the participants in finding a new art in post-war Germany. But it was not just an artistic but also a moral fresh start to the members of the group felt called.

Given a partially bitter and polemical debate in the Federal Republic of Germany to representational and non-representational art, it was the objective of this artist, abstract painting practiced by them to a wider audience and thus to make it more understandable. The group ZEN 49 as well as some art historian, art writer and publisher in their environment campaigned for a broader recognition of modern artistic expression.

The group ZEN 49 represents an important stage in the development of modern, abstract art in Germany and Europe. Her first exhibition was in 1950 at the Central Art Collecting Point in Munich. Other exhibitions followed until 1957. Among the events of other artists, to art historians, gallery owners and critics from home and abroad have been invited. 1987 and 1999 were held sensational retrospectives of the group in Baden -Baden and Munich.

Exhibitions

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