Basic Data

Günther Uecker is a German post-war artist with an international reputation. He was a member of the artist group ZERO, which also included Otto Piene and Heinz Mack. Uecker is best known for his relief-like nail paintings whose surfaces create a dynamic interplay of light and shadow. In addition, the painter and object artist deals with kinetic light art, creates sculptures, but also installations, architectural projects or stage sets.

• Born on: 13 March 1930
• Nationality: German
• Studied at: Hochschule für Angewandte Kunst Wismar, Kunstakademie Berlin-Weißensee, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
• Teacher: Otto Pankok
• Similar artists: Heinz Mack
• Era: Post-war era, Kinetic art
• Stylistic direction: Modern art

As one of the most important contemporary painters, Uecker's material-oriented art deals not only with political themes but also with the existential aspects of life. At the same time, he explores optical phenomena and deals with repetition and structural sequences in his paintings and works. Today, his works can be seen in the world's major museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art.

Günther Uecker Art For Sale

Günther Uecker Unique Print Entwicklung eines Werkes III

Price: $4,712

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Günther Uecker Verletzungen - Verbindungen (dark) Print

Price: $1,562

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Günther Uecker Lichtungen III Print Woodcut

Price: $2,677

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Günther Uecker Lichtungen II Print Woodcut

Price: $2,677

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Günther Uecker Unique Print Entwicklung eines Werkes IV

Price: $4,712

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Günther Uecker Unique Print Entwicklung eines Werkes II

Price: $4,712

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Guenther Uecker Unique Print Entwicklung eines Werkes I

Price: $4,712

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Günther Uecker Edition Jahresteller der Rosenthal Galerie Multiple Object

Price: $1,154

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Günther Uecker Die Kunst kann den Menschen nicht retten, aber mit den Mitteln der Kunst ist ein Dialog möglich Print

Price: $664

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Günther Uecker Medea Altera Etching

Price: $3,077

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Günther Uecker Steppenbrand Print Lithograph

Price: $2,677

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Günther Uecker Lichtungen I Print Woodcut

Price: $2,677

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Günther Uecker Verletzungen - Verbindungen (light) Print

Price: $1,562

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Günther Uecker Lohengrin Original Print

Price: $1,997

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Günther Uecker Bewegung II Lithograph Print

Price: $567

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More Günther Uecker artworks and editions

Günther Uecker for sale

You want to buy artworks or editions of Günther Uecker and are interested in the works of the ZERO co-founder? In our gallery store you will find under Günther Uecker artworks and editions a selected program of Uecker original prints, hand-worked unique editions and a multiple from the Rosenthal Art Edition.

Below we present in detail the respective artworks that we offer for sale, all of which have Uecker's central elements such as light, nails and spirals as their subject. 

Prints by Günther Uecker

If you want to buy original prints by Günter Uecker, you are in the right place. The original prints of Günther Uecker offered by us are handsigned ithographs and etchings, which are either numbered or noted as e.a. artist's copy.

The abstract color lithograph Steppenbrand from 2008, is made in an edition of 100 copies plus e.a. artist's copy, in excellent condition and has the vertical format of 80 x 60 cm. Color lithographs are in the graphic work of Günther Uecker rather the rare exception. All the more we are pleased to offer you this expressive sheet in bright orange red. 

The silkscreen with the title Die Kunst kann den Menschen nicht retten, aber mit den Mitteln der Kunst ist ein Dialog möglich in an edition of 120 copies, depicts a scene of war debris that seems to be pierced by nail tips. The edition, in blue, comes from the portfolio "Transit". The landscape format from 1985 in 70 x 50 cm on cardboard is offered unframed.

The black and white print Waldshut shows the shadowy representation of two handprints against an abstract background. The limited edition in format 70 x 50 cm is handsigned and noted as an artist's copy in pencil.

Nagelbilder (nail paintings) by Günther Uecker

Central element in the creative process of Günther Uecker is the nail. Based on the nail paintings so central to Günther Uecker, we can offer you a total of four original prints for sale, which have Uecker's trademark as their subject.

The original graphics Lohengrin, the set Verletzungen Verbindungen (hell) und Verletzungen Verbindungen (dunkel)  as well as the lithograph Natur - Eine Studie put the nail in different ways in the center of the respective work. All lithographs in portrait format are in excellent condition and were created in the period between 1985 and 2002.

Unique editions by Günther

From the artistic series "Bildrituale – Entwicklung eines Werkes (Fotoumwandlungen)" we can offer you 4 different unique granolithographs reworked with acrylic varnish. The works floating framed under glass, based on photographs by Rolf Schroeter and show Günther Uecker in various work processes in the creation of a nail picture. The four unique editions Entwicklung eines Werkes I, Entwicklung eines Werkes II  as well as Entwicklung eines Werkes III and Entwicklung eines Werkes IV are in addition to the revision with acrylic varnish partially by the artist additionally incised and revised.

Multiples by Günther Uecker

In addition to the graphics and editions, you can buy in our online gallery other works by Günther Uecker, such as the multiple Jahresteller der Rosenthal Galerie. It was created in 1975 in an edition of 3000 copies, of which we offer them number 1540 for sale. It is a glass sculpture in a size of 36 x 10 cm, which is in very good condition.

Embossed prints by Günther Uecker

Currently we do not show any embossed prints by Günther Uecker on our website. If you would like to buy embossed prints by Günther Uecker, please contact us. Through our network of art publishers and gallery partners we can offer you further Günther Uecker works for sale without obligation.

Unique artworks by Günther Uecker

Would you like to buy unique artworks by Günther Uecker? On request we can research unique works on paper and works on canvas by Günther Uecker. These are currently not in our inventory. 

Günther Uecker prices

Biography

Childhood and education

Günther Uecker, the son of a farmer, was born on 13 March 1930 in Wendorf/Mecklenburg. At first, he grew up on the peninsula Wustrow, a landscape that he feels connected to until today. From 1949 on, he completed a traineeship as painter and advertisement artist. Subsequently, in 1953, his wish to study led him to the Hochschule für Angewandte Kunst (University for Applied Art) in Wismar, and, then, to the art school in Weißensee. In Berlin he got in touch with Wassily Kandinsky's abstract art for the first time, which influenced him deeply. In order to escape from the straits of the GDR-doctrine of socialistic literalism, Uecker ensconced himself in West Berlin and got in touch with the local squatting scene. Shortly afterwards, in 1955, Uecker took up studies at the Kunstakademie in Dusseldorf under Otto Pankok, who influenced the young artist with his socialistic and socially committed attitude even apart from his studies. Uecker started with creating figurative as well as abstract woodcuts and finger paintings at the academy. In Dusseldorf, he eventually met Yves Klein in 1957, whose artworks he highly admired.

First nailed artworks and ZERO

In the second half of the 1950s, Uecker became artistically independent and developped his own special signature, which manifested through the utilisation of nails as the characteristic design element. One of the most famous artworks of this period is White Field from 1964 which is from the series Fields of Movement and made of painted nails and painted canvas. Uecker succeeded in positioning a field of nails in a way that its surface seemlingly moves in front of the viewers. The changeful playing with light and shadow contributes to the dynamics, whereas the prevalently white background evokes a dematerialised effect.

In 1961, Uecker became a member of the artist group ZERO that was founded by Heinz Mack and Otto Piene. The artists, who already got to know each other through the academy in Dusseldorf in 1957, united an interest in the utilisation of light, optical illusion, possibilities for combination and variation, and an affinity towards technics. Their aim was to establish a new start in art, "a zone of silence and of pure possibilities for a new beginning." A free, liberated art of puristic aesthetics was to replace traditional ideals, which ZERO further manifested in the art of tachism and Art Informel. The term ZEROitself stands for silence, quietness, and a period of transition. The group split already in 1966 - shortly after the joint participation in Documenta 2. Its members' paths have moved too far away from one another both biographically and artistically. Nevertheless, their impact has an effect until today, which was shown by a great ZERO-retrospective at the Martin-Gropius-Bau not long ago in summer 2015.

Kinetic light art

In the 1960s, Uecker increasingly dealt with light, optical phenomena, and oscillating areas that actively encourage the viewer to participate through manual and motoric interferences. In this way, kinetic light art, so-called Lichtplantagen (Light Plantations) and Sandspiralen (Sand Spirales), takes up a key position in Uecker's oeuvre. Everyday objects covered in nails - primarily furniture, musical instruments, and household items - came up alongside his nail artworks from 1962 onwards. His artworks then increasingly protruded into the room and developed into spacious installations as can be seen at the Salon de Lumière in Amsterdam as well as the Lichtsalons (Lounge of Light) in Krefeld and Frankfurt. Artificial light and electricity are paired with natural material such as sand and water; the interaction of the elements became the linking theme of Uecker's room concepts.

International renown

In 1966, Uecker rented a studio in New York and increasingly celebrated international success. During this time, the artist travelled extensively around the whole world, particularly to Africa, Asia and South America. In 1970, he exhibited together with Thomas Lenk, Heinz Mack and Karl-Georg Pfahler at the German pavilion at the Biennale in Venice. In 1974, he was appointed professor at the Kunstakademie in Dusseldorf.

In the sequel, Uecker progressively dedicated himself to concepts for theatre and opera alongside objects and installations, for instance designs for the Bayreuth Festival (1979) or the Wilhelm Tell production at the Rütli meadow. In the 1980s, Uecker's artworks become more and more political, he started to take a stand on ecopolitical and historical issues. He handled the Chernobyl disaster in the cycle of the Aschebilder, other topics that he discussed artistically were the Iraq War and the Holocaust

More and more attention was paid to the world-acclaimed artist at home from the 1980s on and the pioneer's importance for contemporary art was appreciated. So, the artist was awarded the Kaiserring of the city of Gosslar; in 1985, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany followed. Public contracts, such as the Andachtsraum (Prayer Room) at the Reichstag building in Berlin that was designed in 1999 belong to Uecker's more recent artworks. In December 2008, Uecker was co-founder of the ZERO Foundation that devoted itself to the research, presentation and preservation of the movement. In 2008 he became a talking point when he exhibit as the first western artist in Iran. In 2015, Uecker was awarded the State Award of North Rhine-Westphalia, the highest honour that the state North Rhine-Westphalia can award. The explanation said: "Günther Uecker has always considered his art to be a contribution for an open and dynamic society".

Today, Uecker lives and works in Dusseldorf and St. Gallen. Additionally, he operates a studio in Berlin. Uecker has got one son, Jacob, who was born in 1986, with his wife Christine. His artworks stand in all important international and German collections, ranging from the Museum of Modern Art in New York to the State Museum Schwerin, his North German home, where an especially big body of work can be viewed.

Exhibitions

Current exhibitions

• 24.05.2023 – 17.09.2023 Herausragend! Das Relief von Rodin bis Picasso – Städel Museum,. Frankfurt.
• 13.05.2023 – 25.02.2024 Sammlung mit losen enden 06: drei seiten des bildes – Kunsthaus NRW, Aachen.
• 25.03.2023 – 03.09.2023 KONKRET Kunst - Von Alditüte bis ZERO – Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern.

Past exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• 2021 UECKER 90 – Staatliches Museum Schwerin
• 2016 Günther Uecker – Aquarelle - Galerie der Stadt Sindelfingen
• 2016 Günther Uecker. Der geschundene Mensch - Kunsthalle Rostock
• 2015 Uecker - Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen
• 2015 ZERO - Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin
• 2012 Haunch of Venison - New York City
• 2010 Günther Uecker. Art Walk - Kalfayan Galleries, Thessaloniki
• 2008 Günther Uecker. Arbeiten auf Papier und Skulptur - Kunstmuseum Bayreuth
• 2005 Günther Uecker. Zwanzig Kapitel. Retrospektive - Nationalgalerie, Berlin; Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin; Kunsthalle, Bremen
• 2003 Graphein - Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg
• 2002 Objekte aus vier Jahrzehnten - Stuttgarter Kunsthaus, Stuttgart
• 2000 Originalgraphiken - Entwicklung eines Werkes - Goethe Institut, Hanoi
• 1998 Fragmente - Mies van der Rohe Haus, Berlin
• 1995 Günther Uecker. Brief an Peking - Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin
• 1993 Eine Retrospektive - Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munich
• 1992 Uecker in Wien - Ludwig Museum, Vienna
• 1991 Muze plodnost vzejit z popela - Galerie ULUV, Prague
• 1990 A Pict Land Garden. New Works by Günther Uecker - Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh
• 1989 Römersteine - Goethe-Institut, Chicago
• 1989 Die achtziger Jahre - Mönchehaus-Museum Goslar
• 1988 Arbeiten aus der Sammlung Lenz Schoenberg - Instituto Aleman de Madrid, Madrid
• 1988 Uecker in Moskau - Zentrales Künstlerhaus am Krimwall, Moscow
• 1987 Bühnenbilder zu Richard Wagner - Kunstverein, Bayreuth
• 1987 Studio Carlo Grossetti, Milan
• 1986 Günther Uecker. Aus dem graphischen Werk - Galerie Muda, Hamburg
• 1986 Günther Uecker - Kunsthalle, Winterthur
• 1985 Günther Uecker. Bibliophile Werke - Deutsches Kulturinstitut, Ankara
• 1984 Kamakura Gallery, Tokyo
• 1983 Bibliophile Werke - Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf
• 1982 Aquarelle - Nationalgalerie, Berlin
• 1980 Bilder, Bücher, Objekte - Galerie der Buchhandlung Claus Lincke, Dusseldorf
• 1978 Zum Schweigen der Schrift oder die Sprachlosigkeit - Galerie Reckermann, Cologne
• 1976 Antwerp Gallery, Antwerp
• 1975 Zeichnungen - Kunstmuseum Dusseldorf
• 1975 Das Schweigen der Schrift - Erker-Galerie, St. Gallen
• 1974 Filme - Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne
• 1972 Uecker Kreis Kreise - Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf
• 1971 Klang-Szene 2 - Nationalgalerie, Berlin
• 1970 Galerie Denise René, Dusseldorf
• 1969 Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf
• 1966 Howard Wise Gallery, New York
• 1964 Benagelte Objekte -  Pianohaus Kohl, Gelsenkirchen
• 1962 Galerie Ad Libitum, Amtwerp
• 1960 Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf

Group exhibitions

• 2023 Colours in a Square - Werke aus der Sammlung Marli Hoppe-Rit - Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch.
• 2022 Ulysses’ Dream - Fondation Carmignac, Hyères
• 2021 « … mischen, damit Neues entsteht ! » - Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth, Bogenburg
• 2021 NOTHINGTOSEENESS – Leere/Weiß/Stille - Akademie der Künste, Berlin
• 2021 NOTHINGTOSEENESS – Leere/Weiß/Stille – Akademie der Künste, Berlin
• 2021 Collection Wuensch – Muzej – Museo Lapidarium, Novigrad
• 2020 reisen. entdecken. sammeln. - Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg
• 2019 made in marl - Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten Marl °
• 2019 POSTCARD RELOADED - Kunstraum Potsdam c/o Waschhaus
• 2019 gestalten - ein Jahrhundert abstrakte Kunst im Westen - Kunsthaus NRW Kornelimünster, Aachen.
• 2019 The Source. Porquerolles - Fondation Carmignac Porquerolles Island Site, Hyères
• 2018 1914/1918 – Not Then, Not Now, Not Ever - Kunst im Deutschen Bundestag
• 2018 Action <> Reaction. 100 Years of Kinetic Art - Kunsthal Rotterdam
• 2017 Never Ending Stories - Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
• 2017 Deutschland 8 – German Art in Beijing - Yuan Art Museum, Beijing
• 2017 INTUITION - PALAZZO FORTUNY, Venice
• 2017 The Creative Act: Performance, Process, Presence - Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
• 2016 Postwar: Kunst zwischen Pazifik und Atlantik, 1945-1965 - Haus der Kunst, Munich
• 2016 Accrochage - Punta della Dogana, Venice
• 2015 TELE-GEN. Kunst und Fernsehen - Kunstmuseum Bonn
• 2015 Von Hockney bis Holbein. Die Sammlung Würth in Berlin - Gropius Bau, Berlin
• 2015 ZERO: LET US EXPLORE THE STARS - Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
• 2015 Die Roten Khmer und die Folgen - Akademie der Künste, Berlin
• 2014 ZERO - Guggenheim Museum, New York City
• 2013 ARTandPRESS - ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe
• 2012 Ghosts in the Machine - New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City
• 2011 The Art of Deceleration - Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg
• 2010 Islands never found - State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
• 2008 From Picasso to Warhol - Portikus Frankfurt
• 2007 Revolution des Alltäglichen - Sprengel Museum, Hanover
• 1993 Deutschsein? - Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf
• 1992 Mit Haut und Haar - Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf
• 1992 Aus der Stille der Zeit. Über die Grenzen von Raum - Gallery Zacheta, Warsaw
• 1989 Zeitzechen - Museum der bildenden Kunst, Leipzig
• 1989 Das Buch des Künstlers - Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover
• 1988 Brennpunkt Düsseldorf - Kunstmuseum, Dusseldorf
• 1988 199 Künstler für Joseph Beuys - Stadtmuseum, Ratingen
• 1988 Les Années 50- Centre Pompidou, Paris
• 1987 Der unverbrauchte Blick. Kunst unserer Zeit in Berliner Sicht - Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin
• 1985 German Art 1945-1985 - Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei
• 1985 ZERO. Mack, Piene, Uecker - Kunstverein, Lingen
• 1985 Tsukuba International Environmental Art Symposium, Korea
• 1984 Cosmic Images in the Art  - The Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv
• 1983 Kosmische Bilder in der Kunst - Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden
• 1982 Attitudes. Concepts. Images - Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
• 1982 Videokunst in Deutschland - Kunstverein, Cologne
• 1979 Düsseldorfer Kunstszene aus fünf Generationen - Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf
• 1979 ZERO - Kunsthaus, Zurich
• 1977 documenta 6, Kassel
• 1974 Basically White - Institute of Contemporary Art, London
• 1973 Kunst in Deutschland - Lehnbachhaus, Munich
• 1972 German Art of the Sixties - South African National Gallery, Cape Town
• 1971 Bienal de Sao Paulo 10., Sao Paulo
• 1971 Zeitgenössische Deutsche Kunst - Nationalmuseum, Tokyo
• 1970 Bienale di Venezia 35., Deutscher Pavillon, Venice (with Thomas Lenk, Heinz Mack, Georg Pfahler)
• 1968 documenta 4, Kassel
• 1968 The Machine as seen at the End of the Mechanical Age - Museum of Modern Art, New York City
• 1967 Weiß auf Weiß - Kunsthalle, Bern
• 1967 Fetisch-Formen - Haus am Waldsee, Berlin
• 1966 ZERO IN BONN - Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Bonn
• 1966 European Drawings - Guggenheim Museum, New York City
• 1965 ZERO. Avantgarde 1965 - Atelier Fontana, Milan
• 1965 ZERO - Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Washington
• 1965 Biennale de Paris 4., Paris
• 1964 documenta 3, Kassel
• 1964 Group ZERO. Mack, Piene, Uecker - Tate Modern, London
• 1964 Nouvelles tendence - Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
• 1963 ZERO. Der neue Idealismus - Galerie Diogenes, Berlin
• 1962 ZERO-Demonstration auf der Rheinwiese, Dusseldorf
• 1962 Heinz Mack, Otto Piene et Günther Uecker - Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
• 1961 Bewogen-Beweging - Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
• 1960 Nouveaux rélistes - Festival d’Art d’Avantgarde, Paris
• 1958 ZERO 1. Das rote Bild - Abendausstellungen, Dusseldorf

Awards

• 2023 Order of Merit of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
• 2015 Renaming of the State Library of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to State Library of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Günther Uecker
• 2015 State Prize of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
• 2006 Berliner Bär, Kulturpreis der B.Z. Berlin
• 2001 Bundesverdienstkreuz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
• 1983 Kaiserring der Stadt Goslar
• 1971 Bienal de Sao Paulo Critic's Prize
• 1964 Biennale de Jeune Paris

Films

• Günther Uecker: Poesie der Destruktion, Michael Kluth, Germany 2005, ’50.
• Treppenfilm, Günther Uecker/Hubert Neuerbrug/Laura Poensgen, 1995, ’11.
• Kreis Kreise, Günther Uecker/Hannah Weitmeier, 1985, ’60.
• Henry, die Hose, Günther Uecker/Manfred Borchardt/Peter Dibke, 1969, ’25.
• Die Ecke, Günther Uecker/Manfred Borchardt/Peter Dibke, 1969, ’20.
• Das Geschenk, Günther Uecker/Peter Dibke, 1968, ’5.
• Fingerfilm, Günther Uecker/Lutz Mommartz, 1967, ’4.
• Die Treppe (im Bahnhof Rolandseck), Günther Uecker/Manfred Borchardt, 1964, ’2.
• Lichtstruktur, Günther Uecker, 1960, ’5.

Literature

• Günther Uecker – Poesie der Destruktion, Michael Kluth, Halle 2020.
• Günther Uecker, exhibition catalogue, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana 2014.
• ZERO – Aufbruch in eine neue geistige Zone, exhibition catalogue, Galerie Maulberger, Munich 2013.
• Günther Uecker, exhibition catalogue, Mies van der Rohe-Haus, Berlin 2009.
• Günther Uecker – Zwanzig Kapitel – Retrospektive, exhibition catalogue, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin 2005.
• Günther Uecker. Dialog, exhibition catalogue, Akira Ikeda Gallery, Berlin 2001.
• Günther Uecker – Eine Retrospektive, exhibition catalogue, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munich 1993.
• Günther Uecker. Bühnenbilder, Modelle, Figurinen, Niedersächsische Staatsoper, Hanover 1986 
• Günther Uecker. Zeichnungen, exhibition catalogue, Kunstmuseum Dusseldorf, Cologne 1975.
• Günther Uecker, exhibition catalogueDenise René, Paris 1968.
• ZERO IN BONN, exhibition catalogue, Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Bonn 1966.
• Mack Piene Uecker, exhibition catalogue, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover 1965.
• Mack Piene Uecker, exhibition catalogue, Kaiser Wilhelm Museum Krefeld, Krefeld 1963.

Collections

Germany

• Berlin – Hamburger Bahnhof
• Berlin – Neuer Berliner Kunstverein
• Berlin – Neue Nationalgalerie
• Bremen – Kunsthalle Bremen
• Dortmund – Museum Ostwall
• Erlangen – Kunstpalais Stadt Erlangen
• Essen – Musem Folkwang
• Frankfurt a. M. – Städel Museum
• Ingolstadt – Museum für Konkrete Kunst
• Mönchengladbach – Städtisches Museum Abteiberg

Greece

• Thessaloniki – Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art

Liechtenstein

• Vaduz – Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein

Austria

• Vienna – Stiftung Ludwig

Switzerland

• Zurich – Kunsthaus Zürich

USA

• Los Angeles – Museum of Contemporary Art
• New York – Museum of Modern Art