A review of the different types of work that Henk Peeters made between 1959 and 1966 cannot be seen in isolation from the cultural and social changes occurring so soon after the end of the Second World War and the emerging modernization.

This website is primarily about Peeters’ activities as founder of the Dutch Nul group and as coordinator of the international Zero movement. His development as a visual artist, however, cannot be regarded as separate from his activities for both groups. His many international travels and encounters had a strong influence on his artistic practice, even on his choice of materials.

The fact that Peeters’ body of work is modest in size, approx. 170 works between 1959 and 1966, is due to his frequent decision to act as an organizer, whereby his concepts remained as unrealized sketches. Moreover, in order to organize and finance the international exhibitions, he was required to work as an art teacher and earned his living in education (Rietveld Academy, Arnhem); this also contributed to his limited artistic output.

The following is a summary of the most important work typologies which, also according to Peeters himself, originated or developed further after seeing other works and exhibitions or as a result of encounters with other artists.
Monochrome
After seeing the exhibition Monochrome Malerei in Leverkusen (1960), which included work by Mark Rothko and Barnet Newman, Peeters decided to bring the exhibition to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. However, Yves Klein, who had already adopted the name Yves le Monochrome, persuaded Peeters that only one artist had the right to call himself a monochrome artist. With this, the monochrome was a fait accompli for Peeters. img.>>>
Holes
Peeters’ trip to Venice (1958), where he saw the work of Lucio Fontana, prompted him not only to perforate his surfaces with an awl, but also to make deep holes with a gas burner and soldering iron. After initially working in an informal style consistent with Tapiès, Peeters reduced his use of color and materials, which was more closely related to Fontana’s monochrome pierced surfaces. img.>>>
Fire
The use of fire, together with plastic, can be traced back to Peeters discovering the material paintings by Alberto Burri in the art-magazine Kunstwerk, but also certainly to Peeters’ discussions (1960) with Otto Piene and Yves Klein, who informed him about Bernard Aubertin, who worked with matches. They saw the use of fire by other artists as a sign that they were on the right path together. img.>>>
Plastic
The Hema, a department store that pioneered the development of modern household products, provided Peeters with new and inexpensive products, such as nylon and PVC. Household products such as cotton balls or cotton wool on a roll gave him the opportunity to make works in many variations. Transparent plastic bags, but also plastic and rubber gloves were used enthusiastically by Peeters, for both his “akwarellen” and his installations with water. img.>>>
Cotton
The discovery of Piero Manzoni’s “achromes” at the Posthoorn Gallery in The Hague (1959), and the ensuing friendship between Manzoni and Peeters, certainly emboldened Peeters in his quest to reduce color, and in the use of cotton, such as those supplied by the Hema. New industrial paints and plastic gave Peeters’ white works a different and distinctly less painterly appearance. From then on, Peeters’ work had to be whiter than white, and thus also whiter than the works of Manzoni. ​img.>>>
Snow
Peeters’ interest in three-dimensional transient installations with fire, snow, water, ice and fog is a plea to allow the “real” world into the elitist museum, but is also certainly an indictment of the prevailing art criticism. The idea to exhibit nothing and fill the spaces of the Stedelijk Museum with fog, ice and smoke arose while driving to the museum with Mack and Uecker through the fog. img.>>>
Water
Yves Klein drew Peeters’ attention to the projects of the Japanese Gutai artists, who made an impression with their 1-day outdoor exhibitions (1955). Long plastic bags filled with water by Sadamasa Motonaga, which were hung between the trees during one of the outdoor exhibitions, convinced Peeters that art could or must be integrated into the world. img.>>>
Stitching
When the Hema introduced a cheap version of the sewing machine, thus allowing curtains and clothes to be made at home, the first stitched piece was created. Peeters was able to concentrate on his “real” work; organizing exhibitions and teaching, while his wife Truus created the works on the sewing machine. It was entirely consistent with his concept: that the era of the original was over, that the signature of the artist would disappear and that art had to be businesslike and not artificial. img.>>>
Serial
After initially working as an art therapist (1953-1956), Peeters began concentrating increasingly on education (1956). His students were not only involved with the installation of exhibitions, they also helped produce his artworks. To avoid making art with his own or any signature, Peeters had his work produced, preferably in series, by several of his students. At that time Jan Schoonhoven made sketches for his students, which they were allowed to realize according to their own preference.
Fresh
Art had to look fresh and white, just like in the advertisements for washing powder. Jan Schoonhoven asked for Peeters’ help to make and keep his work fresh white, even after his death. The replacement of a plastic background, feathers, cotton and water were very important for Peeters; his work must in no way look old (paint) and outdated (discolored). ​​img.>>>
Reflector
The emerging paint industry discovered that artists could also promote their paint products, in a time when interiors were increasingly given a personal touch with colors. Henk Peeters was invited to follow the latest developments in paint: glass bead paint, originally developed for road markings, gave Peeters’ work the shining appearance that clearly differentiated it from the work of Manzoni. img.>>>
Touchable
Yayoi Kusama’s contribution to the second Nul exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam consisted of a spatial installation with phallic objects (1965). Kusama’s work prompted Peeters to make soft, erotic and touchable works in foam rubber or synthetic fur. He was a member of the Dutch Association for Sexual Reform (1961) and invited Kusama for an event (1967) with dance and music, whereby Kusama painted the naked bodies of those who attended, under the watchful eye of the Dutch television. img.>>>
Concept
His encounters with Yves Klein certainly confirmed to Peeters that he was on the right path with his work, but he preferred Piero Manzoni, which led Peeters to his final and most conceptual exhibition at the Orez Gallery in The Hague (1966). After selling a work, while singing “the end of the original is here,” Peeters would destroy the original and give the buyer a copy. This radicalism certainly stems from his friendship with Manzoni, who, shortly before his death, put his signature on Peeters and declared him an original work of art (1961).
Replicas
The fact that originality and authenticity were unimportant for Peeters (which was a problem for the market, not the artist) is evident from a series of works he made as early as the nineteen sixties, based on the work of his friends Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni and Enrico Castellani. For these he used modern vinyl, foam rubber and artificial feathers. He himself (!) even made real (!) replicas (!) of his own work up until just before his death. img.>>>
These examples of the origins or further development of specific typologies should not be regarded as a definitive description of Peeters’ oeuvre. They are merely anecdotes (although documented from his own account) and are intended to better place Peeters’ work in an international context. Peeters’ influence on his artist friends was also certainly considerable, as evidenced by the voluminous correspondence between the artists, with tips concerning the use of materials. So soon after the Second World War, the social and cultural development began accelerating, due to which the moment of the “discovery” should rather be seen as an unavoidable given of the time.

The fact that Peeters’ work, ideas and activities are still largely neglected is a result of his decision in 1966 to give up his artistic practice, to destroy much of his work and, disillusioned with the art world, to focus on teaching. With education, Peeters believed that he could actually change the world.

Works are in the collection from public institutes as: Tate Modern, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Museum Boymans-Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Stedelijk Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven; Rijksmuseum, Twente; ​Provincie Overijssel / Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle; Neuberger Museum of Art, New York; Museum Kröller-Müller, Otterloo; Jesus Raphael Soto Museum, Venezuela; Collectie RCE, Amersfoort; Coda, Amersfoort; Centraalmuseum, Utrecht; Voorlinden Museum, Wassenaar; Rotterdam; ​Collezione A&M, Bologna.