Jan Schoonhoven

Collection d'Art, Amsterdam circa 1968

Condition: This work is in very good condition. On close inspection, there are some extremely short stable cracks to the centre of the relief. There is some light surface dust and dirt throughout the work, notably to the crevices of the relief and around the edges. On close examination, there is a light rub mark beneath the centre and a few extremely light fly spots visible in a few isolated places. There is a small horizontal surface irregularity to the protruding edge of the segment on the right side of the central horizontal axis. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

ZERO was not a perfectly organised group of artists. It was founded by Heinz Mack (born 1931) and Otto Piene (born 1928) in Düsseldorf in 1958. Günther Uecker (born 1930) joined the group in 1961. A number of exhibitions were organised each time with other participants.
ZERO as a concept stands for a new start by which the symbiosis of nature, art and technique can be realised.
The program of ZERO mainly consists in the recognition that light is a leading principle of life and that a systematic organisation of means, without the elimination of chance and the irrational is necessary to the understanding of visual and sensual perception. The following elements always appear: light, vibration, monochrome and structure.
The colours of the spectrum are replaced by one colour only, the one that  posseses the greatest number of possibilities. Monochrome not only mirrors a spiritual, immaterial dimension but also reflects the irresistible fascination of space and depth, especially in the case of Rad 4, whose individual elements now thrust more forcefully into the room.

"With the transition to the monochromatic, on the one hand, whose potential possibilities open up to him in the decisive year of 1960, and those of neutral serialism, on the other, Schoonhoven recaptured the free 'signature'of the former informel painter. To be sure, through his work within the neutral grid he anticipates characteristic aspects of Minimal Art, but in his insistence of craftsmanship there also resides a principle difference from the specific object in that movement: in his work on the series, he insists on the individual production of single elements. The transition to simple geometry is, of course, a confession of faith in objectivity, although the transition, in the case of Mondrian, is always intuitively based; within the tightly delineated borders of geometry, however, subjectivity should be able to unfold itself: "If I have a right angle and glue it in such a way and make a relief, then it should still- so I think- be a little poetic. Yes, so it lives". With his hand-work, Schoonhoven seeks the animation of the grid, thereby breaking down the pure objectivity of the geometric norm.


(Source: G. Finckh, Jan J. Schoonhoven- retrospektiv, Dusseldorf 1995, p.69)