Heinz Mack: Major Retrospective “Color in forma” at Palazzo Bembo
More than 30 recent paintings mark the artist’s 95th birthday, alongside the presentation of the ECC Award for Lifetime Achievement | October 18 - November 22, 2026
German artist Heinz Mack, co-founder of the legendary ZERO movement and one of the most influential figures of international post-war art, will be honored with a major retrospective exhibition at Palazzo Bembo on the Grand Canal in Venice from 18 October to 22 November 2026. The exhibition celebrates the artist’s 95th birthday, following his milestone birthday on 8 March 2026.
On the occasion of the exhibition, the European Cultural Centre Italy (ECC Italy) will present Heinz Mack with the prestigious ECC Award for Lifetime Achievement, recognising his extraordinary artistic legacy and his lasting contribution to international art history. The award honors artists whose work has set enduring standards over decades and inspired generations of artists worldwide. Previous recipients of the ECC Award include internationally acclaimed artists such as Yoko Ono and Hermann Nitsch. By honoring Heinz Mack, the ECC Italy pays tribute to one of the defining artistic voices whose work has profoundly shaped the development of contemporary art since the second half of the twentieth century.
Heinz Mack, December 2021, in front of a "Chromatische Konstellation" created in the same year, 2021 – lpr
The retrospective, Color in forma, features more than 30 paintings created over the past decade, offering a comprehensive insight into the artist’s current painterly practice. At its core are luminous chromatic compositions that have established Heinz Mack as one of the most distinctive protagonists of the international art scene. Since the 1950s, his work has explored the elemental forces of light, movement, space, and energy, resulting in a unique visual language that bridges abstraction, perception, and transcendence.
Konstellation_ Untitled, 2020, 147 × 172 cm (149 × 174 × 3 cm including wooden frame) – lpr
Heinz Mack co-founded the ZERO Group in 1957 together with Otto Piene; Günther Uecker later joined the movement. ZERO became one of the most influential artistic movements of the post-war era, fundamentally redefining the understanding of light, space, and material. Today, Heinz Mack's works are represented in many of the world's leading museums and public and private collections, among them: the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. Heinz Mack shares a long and distinguished history with the lagoon city. Over the decades, he has exhibited in Venice on numerous occasions, including within the context of the Venice Biennale and at renowned Venetian institutions. Most notably, he presented The Vibration of Light as a Collateral Event of the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia at the historic Biblioteca Marciana on St. Mark's Square, one of Venice's most prestigious cultural landmarks, accessible exclusively through the Museo Correr. Throughout his career, Mack's works have entered into a compelling dialogue with Venice's unique landscape of light and water—an environment that resonates profoundly with the central themes of his artistic practice.
Located directly on the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge, Palazzo Bembo is one of the European Cultural Centre Italy's most prestigious exhibition venues in Venice. Presented in the historic Piano Nobile, the exhibition of more than 30 paintings demonstrates the remarkable continuity of Heinz Mack's artistic research. It highlights his ongoing exploration of light as an immaterial medium and its relationship to rhythm, color, and spatial perception. Even at the age of ninety-five, his work continues to impress with its intellectual clarity, formal precision, and extraordinary visual vitality.
Portrait_ The artist in his studio in Ibiza, 2014 – lpr
The presentation of the ECC Award for Lifetime Achievement recognises not only an exceptional artistic career but also an artist whose creativity and visionary spirit remain undiminished. Heinz Mack's oeuvre has left a lasting mark on the international art world and continues to serve as an essential point of reference for contemporary artistic discourse.
The exhibition, curated by Marc Mack, is realised in cooperation with the Association for Art in Public (AAP) under the direction of Dirk Geuer. Based in Düsseldorf, the foundation promotes international art and cultural projects and previously organized Heinz Mack's acclaimed exhibition The Vibration of Light at the historic Biblioteca Marciana in Venice in 2022.
Exhibition information
Preview: October 17, 2026, 5pm, Palazzo Bembo
Exhibition dates: October 18 – November 22, 2026
Opening Hours: Daily 10am – 6pm, closed on Tuesdays
Admission: free
Press Release: Download
Website:
Association for Art in Public
Heinz Mack Foundation
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Heinz Mack Foundation
