Günter Uecker

Born on 13 March 1930 in Wendorf and trained under Otto Pankok at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, this German artist became internationally known for nail reliefs that structure light and shadow through dense rhythmic repetition. He joined the ZERO group in 1961 alongside Heinz Mack and Otto Piene, sharing their ambition to give art a fresh start after World War II. Throughout the 1960s he drove nails into furniture, television sets, chairs, and pianos. His Düsseldorf studio, held since 1987, remained his workspace until late in his life. He died on 10 June 2025 at the age of 95.