Niek Uecker was a painter, sculptor, pop artist, and installation artist. He became world-renowned for his nail art works and is considered one of the most important artists of the post-war period.
According to the German news agency DPA, Uecker's family has confirmed that he passed away at a hospital in his hometown of Düsseldorf on Tuesday evening. The cause of death has not been announced.
Uecker was known for decades as the "nail artist" who created art by hammering nails into chairs, pianos, sewing machines, and canvas. Many of his works are on display at museums around the world. He described his nail art as diary-like landscapes of the soul.
He exhibited in countless countries, including dictatorships and totalitarian states. He painted with ash after the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986 and exhibited human rights messages painted on fabric in Beijing. In 2023, Uecker erected a stone monument in Weimar in memory of the victims of the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald.
"The theme of my artistic work is humanity's vulnerability to humanity," he said.
