Christian Megert: 0,0,0

christian megert: 0,0,0
 
serigraph on wood, hand signed in pencil 
 
published in 2025 
by comptoir des arts franches montagnes (cafm)
saint-brais, switzerland
 
printed by SYMETRIA, saint-louis
 
edition of 250, 32 x 32 x 3.5 cm
 
including wooden shadow gap frame
 
0,0,0: a global snapshot of non-objective art in the digital age
commemorating the 110th anniversary of kazimir malevich’s groundbreaking 0,10 exhibition (petrograd, 1915), the 0,0,0 portfolio is a seminal contemporary project that explores the enduring legacy of geometric and non-representational art worldwide.
 
the title “0,0,0” references the pure state of the color black in programming code, symbolizing the core principle of maximum reduction and universal applicability—a direct conceptual bridge to malevich's revolutionary "zero form."
 
this limited-edition portfolio gathers 30 original works by international artists, showcasing the vibrant, transcultural evolution of constructivist principles across different generations and continents. it is a visual dialogue between the historical avant-garde and the logic of our networked, digital world.
 
born on this day in 1936 in bern, christian megert is a living legend of the european post-war avant-garde. as one of the earliest protagonists of the zero movement, he revolutionized art by declaring that "a picture has no frame and no limit." megert did not just create art; he created space. he was a pivotal bridge-builder who introduced giants like lucio fontana to the swiss art scene, fundamentally changing the trajectory of european constructivism.
 
for the 0,0,0 portfolio, megert’s contribution is foundational—literally. he designed the object that holds the entire project: the portfolio box itself. true to his manifesto "a new space" (1961), he transformed the container into a kinetic object. by embedding mirrors into the wooden case, he denies the box its static, closed nature.
 
while the other artists explore the code "0,0,0" (black) on paper, megert counters with the "zero" of the mirror. a mirror has no color of its own; it is a void waiting to be filled by the world facing it. it is the perfect counterpart to malevich’s square—where the black square is the "zero point" of form, megert’s mirror is the "zero point" of space.
 
christian megert (*1936, bern) is one of switzerland's foremost kinetic and zero artists. he trained at the kunstgewerbeschule in bern (1952–1955) and undertook formative study trips to berlin, stockholm and paris. from 1960 he turned almost exclusively to glass and mirror, and in 1961 published his manifesto “a new space”, a call to rethink everything spatial through art. closely associated with the international zero movement, he exhibited at the stedelijk museum amsterdam (1962) and at documenta iv in kassel (1968), where his mirror-clad floor and ceiling dissolved the room into vertical infinity. from 1976 to 2002 he was professor for the integration of fine art and architecture at the kunstakademie düsseldorf. he lives and works in düsseldorf and bern.