Heinz Mack at Sperone Westwater Gallery

Post-war German ZERO group leader Heinz Mack carries his decades-long interest in color right up to his recent work, including this nearly 20-foot long abstract painting at Sperone Westwater on the Lower East Side. Titled ‘The Garden of Eden (Chromatic Constellation),’ Mack’s colors conjure verdant earth and the colors of the hot sun and cool night. (On view through March 25th.)

Heinz Mack, The Garden of Eden (Chromatic Constellation), acrylic on canvas, 143 x 236 inches, 2011.

Heinz Mack at Sperone Westwater Gallery

As a founder of the post-war European ‘Zero’ Group, Heinz Mack explored the effects of light and various reflective materials in an attempt to take his art back to an experimental stage, or conceptual ground zero. Here, a ‘light relief’ sends the eye shooting around a surface of raised patterns as the light conditions and reflections in the gallery define the viewing experience. (At Sperone Westwater Gallery on the Lower East Side through Dec 13th).

Licht-Relief (Pyramide), aluminum and wood, 29 1/8 x 34 x 2 5/8 inches, 2004.