Jo Niemeyer: 0,0,0
jo niemeyer: 0,0,0
serigraph on paper, 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, 30 x 30 cm in a frame of 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 in 1946 in germany and living between the black forest and finland, niemeyer is not just an artist, but a surveyor of the earth. while yesterday’s work was about the obsessive accumulation of lines, niemeyer’s work is about the absolute reduction to the truth. he is a purist who uses mathematics not to complicate the world, but to reveal its underlying order.
this global scale is central to his practice. niemeyer is a pioneer of mathematical land art who treats the planet itself as his canvas. in his monumental project "20 steps around the globe," he installed stainless steel markers across continents—from the lappish tundra of finland to the deserts near the equator—placed at intervals calculated strictly by the golden section. he does not just paint geometry; he physically measures the curvature of the world, proving that mathematical proportion is the invisible structure that holds our reality together.
for the 0,0,0 portfolio, niemeyer condenses this planetary vision into a single sheet. the work presents what appears to be a perfect black quadrangle, but is, in reality, a geometric deception. it is constructed as a sector of a ring with a radius of 6,371 kilometers—the exact radius of the earth.
niemeyer reminds us that on a spherical planet, a straight line is an illusion. "nothing is as it seems," he writes. by rooting the "zero point" in the physical dimensions of the globe, he transforms the black square from an abstract icon into a geodetic marker. it is a call for "mäßigkeit" (the right measure) — a plea to slow down and perceive the true scale of the world we inhabit.