In 1957 Otto Piene and Heinz Mack formed Group Zero or Group O, in Düsseldorf. Often referred to simply as Zero the group was joined in 1960 by Gunther Uecker.

A number of other artists were associated or exhibited with Zero, most notably Yves Klein and Jean Tinguely. The name refers to the countdown for a rocket launch and according to the group is meant to evoke ‘a zone of silence [out of which develops] a new beginning’. Zero was in reaction against the subjective character of the prevailing Art Informel and practised a form of Kinetic art using light and motion that they felt opened up new forms of perception.

Three issues of a journal, Zero, were published, in April and October 1958 and July 1961. The group dissolved in 1966.