Heinz Mack –
26 Variations
of a flag
Heinz Mack, born on March 8, 1931, in Lollar, Hesse, is a prominent German painter and sculptor. He studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy and the University of Cologne. In 1957, he co-founded the ZERO Group with Otto Piene, which revolutionized post-war art. Mack’s works are renowned for their exploration of light, color, and structure. His experimental approach often transcends the traditional boundaries of painting and sculpture. As a pioneer of light art, he investigates visual perception and the interplay between light and space in his work.
The light artist, painter and sculptor gained his initial international recognition through the establishment of the ZERO group with Otto Piene in 1957. This led to the emergence of a genre of art with a global network of artists committed to a purist aesthetic that was unencumbered and future oriented. Light art and kinetics opened new spaces for art during this period, with Heinz Mack extending his work as far as the Sahara and the Arctic. To this day, ZERO continues to define the starting point for numerous artistic movements and positions. A multiple participant in Documenta, Mack represented the Federal Republic of Germany at the 35th Venice Biennale in 1970, while also being appointed professor at an art school in Osaka, Japan. With over 300 solo exhibitions, major art prizes and honors, and works in over 130 public collections, Heinz Mack is one of the most significant contemporary artists worldwide.
Heinz Mack’s series, titled ‘26 Variations of a Flag’, comprises 26 square works, each measuring 55 x 55 cm. In this series for PArt Editions, Mack reimagines the Swiss flag 26 times. He began working on this series in 2020 and finished it in May 2021, just two months after his 90th birthday. To celebrate this milestone birthday, the artist was honored with numerous international exhibitions, including a retrospective at the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf.
‘26 Variations of a Flag’, 2021
Mixed media on paper
dimensions: 55 × 55 cm
Edition of unique pieces, each work signed and dated by Heinz Mack
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The publication 26 Variations of a Flag was created to accompany the edition. It opens with a text by René Spiegelberger entitled “Reflections on ‘26 Variations of a Flag’ – A Work Cycle by Heinz Mack.”
In this cycle, Heinz Mack reinterprets the Swiss flag 26 times. The first section presents 26 details from each of the flags, followed by the complete set of 26 flags in the format 21 x 21 cm. The publication concludes with an interview titled “Confronting the Ugliness of the World” conducted by Gerhard Mack with Heinz Mack.
