(Bad Laasphe 1928–2014 Berlin)
Lovely Princess, 1983, titled, signed, dated on the reverse Piene 83, oil on canvas, 68 x 96 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private Collection, Switzerland - directly acquired from the artist

Otto Piene created his first “Rauchzeichnungen” (Smoke Drawings) in 1959, using light-coloured laid paper. As is the case with the whiteness of the canvas in Lovely Princess, the whiteness of the paper is intended to imply a light so powerful that it outshines everything else. The burnt pigments and fixatives that Piene creates atop the base evoke the optical momentum of the plume of soot, and result from outlines that gently flow outward, modulating between light and shade.
The fire gouaches, which developed from the smoke drawings in 1961, obtain an additional visual effect through the scorched encrustation of colour pigments. The sculptural modulations between light and shade conjure up thoughts of organic matter, of seeds or flowers, and are rooted in ZERO’s aim of connecting man back to nature. In his work, Otto Piene honours this approach by using natural pigments and analogue processes, painting the canvas and using the natural element of fire. The outcome of the fire gouaches as to whether the work is a success or a failure rests on the targeted application of the various materials, on the highest level of concentration and on decisions made within just a few seconds. They may be constructed in the same way, but the result is always different, thanks to the power of nature.