Günther Uecker

Biography

Günther Uecker (1930–2025) was a German artist best known for his reliefs and objects made with nails. Born in Wendorf, Mecklenburg, he studied in Wismar and Berlin-Weißensee before moving to West Germany and continuing his studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. From the late 1950s he used nails to model light and shadow on painted surfaces, and in 1961 he joined Heinz Mack and Otto Piene in the ZERO movement, remaining a central figure of the group until it disbanded in 1966. Over a career spanning seven decades he also produced installations, kinetic works, stage designs and books, often responding to political and ecological threats to humanity. He took part in documenta several times, taught at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf for two decades, and designed the prayer and meditation room in the Reichstag building in Berlin.