HANS SALENTIN

In the aftermath of the 4th evening exhibition of the artist group in September 1957, he is naturally also present at it’s naming in a Düsseldorfer pub. His collaboration with Piene and Mack, among other members of the movement, spanns many years and he contributes significantly to numerous group shows in Germany, as well as internationally. In 1963 he receives with the ZERO group the first price of the San Marino Biennale. Between 1959 and 1961 he creates the Dachziegelreliefs (roof tiles reliefs). His roofing-tile relief sculptures are composed of whole tiles, occasionally also of tile fragments, arranged in various combinations on a bed of cement. They are subsequently covered in a white coat of paint, which creates a subtle interplay of light and shadows. Thereby, the intense plurality of forms is impressed upon the viewer. Up until 1965, his reliefs assembled from roofing tiles, zinc and aluminium provided a consistent component of the ZERO exhibitions.

In 1961 three Dachziegelreliefs are reviewed in the journal ZERO 3. Later Salentin aparts from the Gruppe 53 and explores new three-dimensional styles in cast aluminium, plastic and other materials. Throughout the course of his work, Salentin made use of the design principles of collage and assemblage, in addition to exploring the transformation of an objet trouvé into an objet corrigé. The latter expression signifies deliberate intervention into a found object, including it’s overt presentation. In 1976 he becomes a ember of the Deutscher Künstlerbund. Between 1981 and 1989 due to health reasons he withdraws from the art scene. But in 1995 he returns to sculpture with medium-sized cardboard and polystyrene reliefs, several of these artworks painted in white relate directly to the Dachziegelreliefs. In 2009 Hans Salentin dies in Cologne.