Minimalism in Germany

Book excerpt: Minimalism in Germany offers a definitive overview of constructivist and concrete abstraction and the avant-garde in 1960s Germany. With a wealth of color illustrations, this massive and ambitious compendium features approximately 100 works--from serial sculptures to action-oriented works, mostly drawn from the Daimler Art Collection--by around 40 artists. Opening with an examination of predecessors such as Josef Albers, Norbert Kricke, Herbert Zangs and Siegfried Cremer, it looks at developments in abstract art in the cities of Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Berlin and Munich, also acknowledging relevant developments in neighboring Switzerland. Among the artists included here are Hartmut Böhm, Imi Giese, Hanne Darboven, Hermann Glöckner, Heinz Mack, Peter Roehr, Charlotte Posenenske, Ulrich Rückriem and Franz Erhard Walther. Essays on minimalist tendencies in German architecture, literature, film and design of the period in Germany expand the context for their activities.