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Lot Essay
The ZERO movement - founded in 1958 by Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and later Gnther Uecker - evolved and expanded its three-person origins in Düsseldorf to become an international Post-War development in the mid-1960s. In the Netherlands it was Jan Schoonhoven (1914-1994) who in 1961 formed the so-called Nul-group (the Dutch translation for zero) with five other artists. About six years later Schoonhoven represented the Netherlands at the Biennial of São Paulo together with Ad Dekkers and Peter Struycken. Among other works by the artists, the present relief Diagonalen was shown on this Biennial in 1967 and was acquired by the present owner during the Biennial and has remained in Brazil up until this point.
The (international) program of the ZERO artists was built around recognizing that light is a leading principle of life and that a systematic organization of means, without the elimination of chance and the irrational, is necessary to the understanding of visual and sensual perception. Schoonhoven shows this statement in his reliefs by replacing all the colours of the spectrum by the colour that possesses the greatest number of possibilities: white. The monochrome white not only mirrors a spiritual, immaterial dimension but also reflects the irresistible fascination of space and depth, as can be seen in the present relief. This exquisitely handcrafted monochrome papier-maché relief possesses an internal harmony, whose sense of purity is carefully balanced by its delicate surface and subtle tonal movement caused by the diagonals and triangles.
Most of Schoonhovens reliefs, which he created mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, are dominated by simplicity and structure. His fulltime job at the post office provided him the order he needed in his daily routine to produce the reliefs and drawings. Taking its inspiration from the regularity and order he perceived around him in the fabric of modern living, Schoonhovens work sought to form a bridge between art and contemporary society. The artist accomplished this by using an impersonal and entirely novel approach to art making, that combined painting and sculpture, which resulted in a universal abstract visual language that was both devoid of emotion and filled with infinite possibilities of interpretation.
In 1967, at the previously mentioned Biennial of São Paulo, Schoonhoven was awarded with the second price. Unfortunately, because of his fulltime job at the Dutch national post office (PTT) and a lack of financial means, the artist was unable to travel to Brazil to receive his award in person. Nevertheless, attending the second oldest art biennial in the world and winning the second prize played a major role in Schoonhovens international breakthrough.
The (international) program of the ZERO artists was built around recognizing that light is a leading principle of life and that a systematic organization of means, without the elimination of chance and the irrational, is necessary to the understanding of visual and sensual perception. Schoonhoven shows this statement in his reliefs by replacing all the colours of the spectrum by the colour that possesses the greatest number of possibilities: white. The monochrome white not only mirrors a spiritual, immaterial dimension but also reflects the irresistible fascination of space and depth, as can be seen in the present relief. This exquisitely handcrafted monochrome papier-maché relief possesses an internal harmony, whose sense of purity is carefully balanced by its delicate surface and subtle tonal movement caused by the diagonals and triangles.
Most of Schoonhovens reliefs, which he created mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, are dominated by simplicity and structure. His fulltime job at the post office provided him the order he needed in his daily routine to produce the reliefs and drawings. Taking its inspiration from the regularity and order he perceived around him in the fabric of modern living, Schoonhovens work sought to form a bridge between art and contemporary society. The artist accomplished this by using an impersonal and entirely novel approach to art making, that combined painting and sculpture, which resulted in a universal abstract visual language that was both devoid of emotion and filled with infinite possibilities of interpretation.
In 1967, at the previously mentioned Biennial of São Paulo, Schoonhoven was awarded with the second price. Unfortunately, because of his fulltime job at the Dutch national post office (PTT) and a lack of financial means, the artist was unable to travel to Brazil to receive his award in person. Nevertheless, attending the second oldest art biennial in the world and winning the second prize played a major role in Schoonhovens international breakthrough.