Modern and Contemporary Art ZERO Zangs, Herbert Untitled (Ciphers). 1997. Black intaglio print in acrylic on vellum. (Hand-printed with a unique character). 21 x 14.5 cm (25 x 17.8 cm). Signed, dated and numbered. – A magnificent, deep black and expressive print of the motif, with the plate edge visible. One of 10 copies. – Herbert Zangs’ ‘Ciphers’ prints belong to those groups of works in which his consistent pursuit of his own, radically reduced visual language is exemplarily condensed. The starting point is the gesture of the hand: handprints on acrylic become signs, rhythmically arranged traces that oscillate between writing and image, between notation and abstract structure. In these works, Zangs combines the physical imprint of the body with a rigorous, almost ascetic organisation of the surface – a tension that has characterised his art since the early post-war years. Untitled (Ciphers). 1997. Black intaglio print in acrylic on vellum. (Hand-printed with a unique character). Signed, dated and numbered. – A magnificent, deep black and expressive print of the image with visible plate edges. One of 10 copies. - Herbert Zangs’ ‘Ciphers’ prints belong to those groups of works in which his consistent development of his own, radically reduced visual language is exemplarily condensed. The starting point is the gesture of the hand: handprints on acrylic become signs, rhythmically arranged traces that oscillate between writing and image, between notation and abstract structure. In these works, Zangs combines the physical imprint of the body with a strict, almost ascetic order of the surface – a tension that has shaped his art since the early post-war years.