The members of the ZERO group often experimented with or referenced natural elements such as light, movement, fire, and water in their work. A cofounder of this collaborative, Otto Piene developed new art forms, among them media art and performance, over the course of a nearly sixty-year career. For him, the sky was a canvas, and paintbrushes were flames. To create Any Fire Flower, Piene painted his canvas with flammable pigments, which he then ignited. It came out of a series of related works, called “Black Suns,” in which he painted with soot left behind by bundles of candles directed at specially prepared canvases. 

Label from Giant Steps: Artists and the 1960s, June 30–December 30, 2018